{"id":1371,"date":"2021-05-11T22:08:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T20:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mikelimasierra.net\/?p=1371"},"modified":"2021-05-30T02:51:13","modified_gmt":"2021-05-30T00:51:13","slug":"pasta-sauce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikelimasierra.net\/index.php\/2021\/05\/11\/pasta-sauce\/","title":{"rendered":"Pasta sauce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’m a big fan of pasta and pesto<\/a>, and combining both into a delicious meal can easily make my day. But most manufacturers tend to deviate<\/a> from the traditional recipes quite a bit. A good example is using cheap cashew nuts instead of pine nuts or almonds. The same goes for both cheese and oil used in the product, and there is a tendency towards a much higher amount of salt for flavour potentiation. But I’m a purist with those things, and I want my pesto to be what it says on the label. The only valid option short of moving to Italy is therefore, to make my own pesto using the correct ingredients in the correct amounts. Since pesto sauce is a very old tradition, there isn’t just one single recipe to go by. But there is a good estimate to what a specific pesto should contain, some of which is even backed by historical records as is the case with Pesto Genovese<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trouble with making your own pesto is that it’s a very messy process, that includes a lot of oil and that can turn any kitchen into a battlefield. Since there is a considerable effort required for cleaning afterwards, I tend to create large amounts of pesto in one go, giving some to family and friends and storing some more in the freezer. So far, I’ve been making the three more famous pestos originating from Genoa, Sicily and Calabria, using the ingredients below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pesto Genovese<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
  • 150 g of dried basil or<\/strong> 3 kg of fresh basil<\/li>
  • 1 kg of pine nuts <\/li>
  • 1 kg of Parmigiano-Reggiano<\/li>
  • 20 g of ground sea salt<\/li>
  • 10-20 garlic cloves<\/li>
  • ~6 l of extra virgin olive oil<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    Pesto alla Siciliana<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    • 2 kg of sun dried tomatoes<\/li>
    • 50 g of dried basil or<\/strong> 1 kg of fresh basil<\/li>
    • 1 kg of blanched almonds<\/li>
    • 1 kg of Pecorino Romano<\/li>
    • 10 garlic cloves<\/li>
    • ~6 l of extra virgin olive oil<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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      Pesto alla Calabrese<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      • 1 kg of sun dried tomatoes<\/li>
      • 10 large bell peppers (5 red, 5 yellow)<\/li>
      • 2 hot chilli peppers (red)<\/li>
      • 50 g of dried basil or<\/strong> 1 kg of fresh basil<\/li>
      • 1 kg of blanched almonds<\/li>
      • 1 kg of Pecorino Romano<\/li>
      • 10 g of ground sea salt<\/li>
      • 10-20 g of ground black pepper<\/li>
      • 10-20 garlic cloves<\/li>
      • ~6 l of extra virgin olive oil<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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        Preparation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        The preparation is easy enough, but it can become quite time-consuming when dealing with larger quantities. Some ingredients are also a little tougher and require a bit of ingenuity or some hefty tooling. Tradition dictates that a mortar and pestle be used for grinding of the ingredients, but electric kitchen aids are a good replacement in modern times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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