SC - blech o crat take two

[BaronessaIlaria@aol.com]

Chris Stanifer wrote:
 
> I have also seen a few recipes (authentic??) which
> include a bit of fresh spinach leaves (which I find to
> be unneccessary), and Romano cheese in place of
> Parmesan.  If anyone has (what they believe to be) a
> truly authentic recipe for Pesto, please pass it along
> privately.  I have seen so many in my career, I can't
> for the life of me recall which one is the most
> authentic.

Pesto, in its most common internationally available form, is pretty well
acknowledged to have been created in Genoa. Whether or not that's the
case, I couldn't say, but most people who seem to have any kind of
opinion seem to feel it's Genoese. Probably because they've been told it
a bazillion times.

If it _is_ Genoese, it would make a fair amount of sense that
Parmaggiano, rather than Romano, would be the cheese of choice for the
formula. Look at a map and say, cow country, not sheep. Ditto pine nuts
over various others. As for spinach, I can only say that I haven't seen
enough variations that call for it to suggest it is anything but a
variant on a more orthodox (mainstream?) formula.

I have also seen a variant that calls for flat parsley, either as the
sole green used, or in combination with basil. Then there's the
Provencale pistou, which may not be named as a variant on pesto, but for
a Latin word meaning "pounded". Pistou occasionally shows up made only
with basil, garlic, oil, and salt, without the cheese and pignoles.

The most common basic formula for Pesto Genovese seems to be basil,
garlic, salt, olive oil, parmagianno and pignoles. As I say, there are
countless variations, but this is the Genoese version that is claimed to
be the Real Thing. 

Not responsible! Park and lock it!

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com