How to use Genovese style Pesto – Italian Sauces and more

Introduction about basil pesto

GENOVESE style pesto is a no-cook sauce whose main ingredient is basil. It is delicious on pasta, vegetables, eggs, and more. The beauty of basil pesto is its versatility.
You will find on this page a few simple recipes, actually a few advices, whose aim is to show you how you can use this luxurious condiment, other than as a sauce for a pasta dish, and inspire you to create your own recipes.
Almost all the recipes to do not require any particular cooking skill, as they can easily be made using ready products available on the market, where you can add a few drops of basil pesto to personalize the flavor. However if you like cooking, you can enjoy these recipes and prepare them at home by yourself using fresh ingredients.
If you should not use a whole jar of basil pesto at once, you can freeze it (up to one month) in a small container and use it whenever you feel inspired. You may even use ice cube containers for small portions.

Curiosities about basil pesto

In Italy we call it “pesto Genovese” because originally this sauce was created in the city of Genoa. Strictly speaking the word “pesto” is a generic term for anything that is made by pounding. This is why we have several pestos in Italy (rocket pesto, olives pesto, dry tomatoes pesto and so on), but Genoese pesto remains the most popular all over the world and is often called simply P E S T O.
Traditional accompaniment: Basil pesto is commonly used on pasta (“trofie” or “trenette”). Potatoes and string beans are also traditionally added to the dish, boiled in the same pot in which the pasta has been cooked.
Nowadays basil pesto is used for a variety of dishes. I will show you some pictures for an easy understanding of the procedure.

Recipes with basil pesto

Choose the recipe you prefer and it will link you to the recipe and the related picture.