Pesto sauce is considered the most popular Italian sauce based on basil and olive oil. It can be green, red or even purple. Ideal for pasta.

Pesto sauce - a bit of history

The homeland of this sauce is the city of Genoa, where it is still very popular. And in the 19th century, it became a traditional Italian dish.

In the old days, all products for the preparation of sauce were ground, hence the name appeared, from the word "pestare", which translates as "ground". Now it can be done in a blender, but culinary experts are confident that such a treatment affects the taste.

The first mention of it appeared in 1800. Italians really love and appreciate this sauce, use it for many dishes and even just spread it on bread. It is considered a symbol of wealth and must be on the wedding menu, this is a good sign for the newlyweds.

Classic Basil Pesto Sauce

To appreciate the taste, you need to cook Pesto sauce at least once according to a basic recipe.

Required Products:

  • 3 large spoons of pine nuts;
  • fresh basil - 50 grams;
  • olive oil - 0.1 l;
  • two cloves of garlic;
  • 50 grams of parmesan.

Cooking process:

  1. Pesto with basil is very easy to prepare. The greens must be washed, dried, so that there is no moisture.
  2. Grind the garlic in medium slices, grate the cheese on a coarse grater.
  3. All of this, together with the nuts, is immersed in a blender, and ground.

Cooking from sun-dried tomatoes and walnuts

Be sure to try pasta with pesto sauce prepared according to this recipe. A very winning combination.

Required Products:

  • 60 milliliters of olive oil;
  • 2 large spoons of water;
  • six sun-dried tomatoes;
  • clove of garlic;
  • a third of a glass of crushed nuts;
  • 50 grams of parmesan;
  • fresh basil - a glass;
  • sea ​​salt and black pepper - on the tip of a spoon.

Cooking process:

  1. Prepare the bowl of the harvester, place the indicated amount of basil, finely chopped garlic, chopped tomatoes, grated cheese and walnuts already crushed there.
  2. Add a little water, sea salt and pepper to your taste, turn on the appliance and let it whisk until the mass becomes homogeneous.
  3. Slow down, add oil and bring to a density.

From pistachios and asparagus

Pesto can be made with such unusual ingredients. And although the combination is not traditional, the result is an interesting sauce.

Required Products:

  • lemon juice and herbs to your liking;
  • three tablespoons of olive oil;
  • a quarter cup of fresh spinach;
  • clove of garlic;
  • 2 large spoons of fried pistachios;
  • asparagus - 2 bunches;
  • 50 grams of parmesan.

Cooking process:

  1. Before cooking, asparagus should be placed in boiling water, brought to softness, cooled and cut into small pieces.
  2. Now all of these ingredients, together with spices, are sent to the blender bowl and smashed there until they turn into a homogeneous mixture of sufficient density.

From arugula

With this sauce, you can cook salads, snacks or even season potatoes and pasta. In principle, you can use any nuts, but the taste will be completely different.

Required Products:

  • olive oil - 0.1 l;
  • clove of garlic;
  • Parmesan cheese - 40 grams;
  • salt to taste;
  • 35 grams of pine nuts.

Cooking process:

  1. We wash the greens and be sure to wait for its complete drying.
  2. Grind the cheese, and cut the garlic into slices.
  3. Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, pour in oil, add salt to your taste and interrupt to the desired consistency. It is not necessary that it becomes homogeneous. Small pieces of nuts will give the final result a peculiar taste.

Creamy Pesto

One of the best options for cooking spaghetti with pesto sauce. They can also season vegetables or make sandwiches.

Required Products:

  • Parmesan - 100 grams;
  • a large spoon of lemon juice;
  • olive oil - two tablespoons;
  • a little more than 100 grams of any cream cheese;
  • 100 grams of walnuts;
  • 100 grams of dried basil;
  • 2 cloves of garlic;
  • black pepper and salt to your taste.

Cooking process:

  1. Walnuts must be chopped a little, and grate hard cheese on a coarse or medium grater.
  2. After that, the composition indicated in the list is laid out in a blender and begins to interrupt to a thick mass, so that it looks something like a cream.

Simple cilantro and parsley sauce

A spicy version of dressing will surely appeal to lovers of spicy dishes.

Required Products:

  • half a small spoonful of salt;
  • a bunch of fresh cilantro and as many parsley;
  • 2 large spoons of pine nuts or any other;
  • two cloves of garlic;
  • Parmesan - 0.1 kg;
  • 0.1 liter of olive oil.

Cooking process:

  1. Previously, all the ingredients for the sauce were finely chopped with a knife, or ground, now the process can be simplified with a blender.
  2. We put cheese in it, interrupt, so that it would turn into crumbs.
  3. Add everything else on the list, turn on the high speed of the device and wait about five minutes. So much time will be required for the mass to become homogeneous and similar to sauce. It can be stored for no more than two weeks in a closed container in the refrigerator.

Step by step tomato pesto

Basil flavor, a small tomato sourness is an excellent option for crackers and pasta.

Required Products:

  • clove of garlic;
  • two tomatoes;
  • olive oil - 2 large spoons;
  • salt and pepper to your liking;
  • 30 grams of pine nuts or walnuts;
  • a bunch of fresh basil;
  • curd cheese - 50 grams;
  • 40 grams of parmesan or other hard cheese.

Cooking process:

  1. Tomatoes should be hard enough, soft is better not to use. We cut them into medium-sized cubes, put them in a sieve, sprinkle with salt and let stand for about 10 minutes.
  2. All the ingredients from the list, except for curd cheese and butter, put in a blender, grind until it becomes homogeneous.
  3. Then we pour in the oil, the indicated amount of cheese, season again with salt and turn on the blender for a few more minutes.
  4. The resulting sauce can be pepper, transferred to a convenient container and stored in the refrigerator.

What to eat with pesto sauce?

Many have probably heard about this sauce; it is sold in almost all stores, although it is quite expensive. As it turned out, you can cook it at home, but with what eat Pesto sauce, will it go well with cooked dishes?

Dressing made from aromatic herbs is well suited to pasta, meat, salads and even fish.

Spaghetti, ravioli, fettuccine and any other pasta is an ideal combination with this sauce, and it does not matter which one you choose, creamy or tomato.

Salmon, cod or any other fish can be baked in this supplement. Then a completely ordinary dish will sparkle with completely different colors.

It can be used as an independent marinade for chicken, pork or turkey. A dish in such a marinade can be safely put on a festive table - it turns out to be insanely aromatic and tasty.

Another option is sandwiches and canapes. The sauce is applied to bread or toast, and on top you can put anything: mozzarella, tomatoes, ham, any other cheese.

They are seasoned with vegetable salads instead of regular butter and mayonnaise; it is especially good in combination with eggplant.