Pesto: Recipe and advice for the Italian prep

Well, if we're talking about a delicious preparation, why not think of Pesto?

Pesto is a sauce originated in Genoa in the northern region of Italy. It consists typically of Garlic, Basil, Nuts and ground cheese of the Parmigiano (Parmesan) and Fiore Sardo (Sheep) cheese varieties.

Even though some people describe the Pesto preparation as somewhat complex when compared to the minimum ingredients list, I personally advice you to give it a try with whatever you got! Basil and Garlic are a must, and YES, you will need to use fresh ingredients, no bottled version of these will be able to give you the proper flavor you are looking for.
Good news is, apart from these you can go ahead and pretty much change what you want for the remaining part.

I personally tried a rather simple prep: I chopped a few garlic pieces, and somewhere around 20 basil leaves. I didn't use any mortar like device or anything, just plainly chopped them and mixed them in a wooden board. Once it was finely cut, I dropped the mixture into a generous amount of Olive oil (at this point I have to recommend that you use a good quality one, as it's going to do wonders for your pesto) and that was it!

I have tried this simple, 10 minute preparation in over 5 different pasta types, and believe me it works like a charm! If you want to get more complex, you can try out adding about half a cup of ground cheese, of your favorite Parmesan brand, or including nuts. I've tried pine nuts, pecan and almonds with good results!!

That's what's amazing about Pesto, it works no matter what you try!!! Get yourself into testing it out, and feel free to comment on what it worked best for you!

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