This easy Pesto alla Genovese is a fresh, flavour-packed Italian classic made with basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and parmesan. Tossed through fusilli, it’s quick to make and perfect for a weeknight dinner or summer lunch. Learn how to make pesto from scratch using a mortar and pestle.
Category
Dinner
Servings
4
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
10 minutes
This easy Pesto alla Genovese is a fresh, flavour-packed Italian classic made with basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and parmesan. Tossed through fusilli, it’s quick to make and perfect for a weeknight dinner or summer lunch. Learn how to make pesto from scratch using a mortar and pestle.
Ingredients
- 500g fusilli pasta
- 1 clove garlic
- 120ml (4 fl oz) olive oil
- 30g (1 oz) toasted pine nuts
- 1 bunch basil, leaves picked and washed
- 20g (0.7 oz) Parmesan, grated
- sea salt to taste
Directions
Place a large pot of salted water on to boil to cook the pasta. Cook pasta according to packet directions, until al dente. Check on your pasta now and then and give it a mix to ensure it doesn’t stick together.
- In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic with a little bit of salt until it forms a paste. Then add the toasted pine nuts and start to break those down until it’s a dry paste consistency (like peanut butter).
- Add the parmesan and a little of the oil, and continue to work to a paste.
- Add the basil leaves gradually (about two pinches at a time) and pound until broken down, then add more. Keep working it until you have a coarse paste.
- Add the remaining oil and continue pounding until it comes together, ensuring the pesto retains some texture. Add a pinch of salt.
- Take ½ cup of pasta water out of the pot. Then, drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the pesto and a little bit of the pasta water and toss to combine, until pasta is well coated.
- Serve pasta with extra grated parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.
Recipe notes
Pine nuts: In a traditional recipe the pine nuts are raw but I like the extra nutty flavour that the toasted pine nuts give.
Basil: To stop your pesto from going dark and ensure it has the best flavour, handle the basil gently, make sure it's fresh, and don’t overwork it with too much heat from blending.
Pasta shape: So this recipe is generally made with trofie, trenette, or linguine pasta but I really like the shape of fusilli with pesto as there’s lots of place for the pesto to stick to it.
Don't have a mortar & pestle:If you have an immersion blender, you can make this pesto in a tall jug and quickly blitz it. You can also use a stand blender or food processor, just make sure you do it slowly so you don't over blend it.
Adjust the texture:Add more olive oil or a splash of pasta water if you like your pesto thinner and silkier
Want to add more veg? Add some fresh cherry tomatoes, blanched green beans, and some marinated vegetables (eggplant, peppers/capsicums) to this pasta with the sauce.
