(Per la versione italiana, clicca qui)

Did I tell you that I have a little field? A field of fruits and vegetables.

I have strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, french beans, cauliflower, peppers, eggplants, onions, cucumbers, courgettes, mint, parsley, basil and…tomatoes. 24 plants of tomatoes. I really don’t know what I was thinking when I bought them. I was drunk I guess. I mean…24 plants, in my little field. It means that I have tomatoes everywhere. And even if I eat them everyday for lunch and dinner, there are always more tomatoes. They grew endlessly like the miracle of the loaves and fishes!

So, in order not to have tomatoes even for breakfast, I gave my grandma 2 kilos of tomatos. She will make the tomato sauce, while I’m ready to do the Pesto alla Genovese.

Basil Pesto Sauce is a typical sauce of the coastal region of Liguria, made with fresh leaves of Basil, seeds and a mixture of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Pecorino. For the original recipe you’ll need a mortar and a pestle but, this is a fast and easy recipe so you’ll just need a blender.

Are you ready? Let’s go!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 50 gr. of fresh basil leaves
• a pinch of salt
• 15 gr. of pine-seeds (about a spoon)
• 70 gr. of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (about 6 spoons)
• 30 gr. of grated Pecorino cheese (about 2 spoons)
• 100 ml. of extra-virgin Olive Oil

PREPARATION:

Wash basil leaves with cold water and put them dry in a tea towel.

Once dry, put them in the blender with 2 cloves of garlic, a pinch of salt and the pine-seeds and mix it. Add the mixture of cheese and mix.

Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the olive oil until evenly mixed and…It’s ready!

You can store pesto, topped with a thin layer of extra-virgin Olive oil, in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

I usually have it with tagliolini (a kind of spaghetti pasta) but , even spred in a toasted slice of bread is delicious!

Enjoy!