The green sauce of the Genoese Riviera
Pesto alla genovese is traditionally crushed in a mortar, not with a blender – the turning of the pestle presses the basil oil out and releases the green colour. With a blender you lose colour and aroma, not just time.
The simplest pesto looks banal: basil, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan, Pecorino, olive oil. Yet the order of the ingredients decides everything. Add thin pasta, beans and potatoes, and the dish becomes a whole region on the plate.