The origin of Pesto alla Genovese has its roots in the distant past…
It is said that around the year one thousand, on the heights of Prà (now a district of Genoa and the acknowledged home of Pesto), there was a convent dedicated to St Basil, in whose possessions grew an aromatic herb that was much appreciated by the monks who lived there and which they called basilium, in honour of their patron saint. One day, a monk in the monastery, in order to prepare a meal, gathered the leaves of basilium, put them in a bowl together with other ingredients offered by the faithful and pounded the mixture, obtaining the first version of Pesto.
From a strictly historical point of view, Pesto alla Genovese has very ancient ancestors. In ancient Rome, the mortar (just like the one used today to make Pesto) was used in the kitchens of the empire, and one of the most popular recipes was a sauce made with garlic, herbs, cheese, salt and oil. Basically, a “garlic” version of our own pounded sauce, which we find in a similar recipe in the Middle Ages, which is recognised by historians and experts in Genoese history as the first true ancestor of Pesto. It was the Agiadda, a popular sauce in Liguria based on garlic, oil, vinegar and salt, used both to season and preserve food.
With the passing of the centuries, the “agliata” sauce continued its evolution towards a definitive transformation into Pesto alla Genovese, even if the historical and bibliographical traces of it are somewhat lost.
The next fundamental step we know of came in 1863, when Giovanni Battista Ratto published ‘La cuciniera genovese’, a book dedicated to the recipes of authentic local cuisine. One of the recipes that stands out is a sauce made from ‘minced garlic and basil’, a preparation for ‘seasoning pasta’ which, according to Ratto’s description, is the link between ‘agliata’ sauce and Pesto alla Genovese. In fact, the book reads “… take a clove of garlic, baxaicö (basil) …. Dutch cheese and grated Parmesan cheese mixed together, and some pignoli (pine nuts) and pound everything in a mortar with a little butter…”.
Another fundamental step was taken in 1910, when a well-known gastronome of the time, Emerico Romano Calvetti, published a collection of traditional Genoese recipes, which he revised in a more ‘modern’ key. It was in this volume that the recipe for a pasta sauce based on ‘chopped garlic and basil’ was transformed into an almost definitive version of Pesto alla Genovese. Extra virgin olive oil replaced butter, and Sardinian pecorino cheese replaced Dutch cheese.
Over the course of the 20th century, the recipe evolved further, with small adjustments here and there, but the path taken was towards the one known today. Obviously, as with any self-respecting Genoese recipe, there is no single version, as each city, town, district and family tends to keep alive the type of preparation handed down from their ancestors.
But the recipe now universally recognised is the one indicated by the
But the recipe that is now universally recognised is the one indicated by the ‘Consorzio del Pesto Genovese’, with its fantastic 7 ingredients, 4 of which are PDO (Genoese basil, Riviera Ligure extra virgin olive oil, Fiore Sardo pecorino cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese), 1 Slow Food Presidium (Vessalico garlic), as well as Italian pine nuts and coarse salt.
But the history of Pesto alla Genovese is still a work in progress, given the enormous success that this sauce is enjoying in every corner of the world, thanks also to the many Ligurian emigrants who always carry in their hearts a little of their native cuisine. In fact, Pesto has been included in the list of recognised Italian PAT (Traditional Agri-foodstuffs) products set up by the Ministry of Agriculture, which also has the task of promoting it at national and international level. And it has also been nominated to become a Unesco ‘intangible cultural asset of humanity’.
Not a bad curriculum for a sauce that has spanned almost 2,000 years of history…
