Ingredients

1 large bunch of fresh Basil

Method

Pound the basil leaves (there should be about 2 oz when the stalks have been removed) in a mortar with 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, a little salt and the pine nuts. Add the cheese. (Sardo cheese is the pungent Sardinian ewe's milk cheese which is exported in large quantities to Genoa to make pesto. Parmesan and Sardo are sometimes used in equal quantities, or all Parmesan, which gives the pesto a milder flavour.)

When the pesto is a thick puree start adding the olive oil, a little at a time. Stir it steadily and see that it is amalgamating with the other ingredients, as the finished sauce should have the consistency of a creamed butter. If made in larger quantities, pesto may be stored in jars, covered with a layer of olive oil.

This is the famous sauce which is eaten by the Genoese with all kinds of pasta, with gnocchi, and as a flavouring for soups. The Genoese claim that their basil has a far superior flavour to that grown in any other part of Italy, and assert that a good pesto can only be made with Genoese basil. As made in Genoa it is certainly one of the best sauces yet invented for pasta, and I tablespoonful of pesto stirred in at the last minute give a most delicious flavour to a minestrone. Try it also with baked potatoes instead of butter.

Since basil is hard to find in England except for people who grow it themselves, an imitation of this sauce can be made with parsley, and although the flavour is totally different it is still very good indeed. Walnuts can be used instead of pine nuts.

The quantities given will make enough pesto for six helpings of pasta if served as a first course; four helpings if the chief part of the meal.