Trenette with pesto sauce (Trenette al pesto)

Hi!!! This is the very first recipe I'm publishing on my blog, so I'm very excited. I chose a typical recipe of my city, Genoa which is in the north west of Italy.
I don't know if you already know our pesto sauce, probably you can find it in your supermarket but I can tell you that if you make it by yourself with the correct ingredients it's completely different (and much much better. Probably you don't know what "trenette" means. It's a kind of pasta, typical of Genoa, perfect for our pesto sauce. I don't think you can find trenette outside italy, but don't worry, have a look at the "tips & suggestions" paragraph of the reciped and you'll see that you can even use other kinds of pasta.

Difficulty: Low to medium

Time needed: 20 minutes

Serves 4

Price: Medium

Ingredients:

Trenette 400gr.

2 cloves of garlic

ground pecorino cheese 30gr.

basil leaves 50gr.

pine kernels 15gr.

extra virgin olive oil 100ml.

grated parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) cheese 70gr.

1 pinch of salt

Directions:

Put a large pot half full of water on.

Don't wash the basil leaves, just clean them with a soft cloth.

Peel the garlic and put it in a bowl or a mortar, together with a little pinch of salt.

Squash the garlic. Here in Genoa we use a pestle and mortar, if you don't have them you can use a bowl and a meat mallet as well, or anything that can contain the sauce and squash the ingredients.

When the garlic appears like a sort of cream add the basil leaves and another little pinch of salt.
Squash the basil leaves against the walls of the bowl (or of the mortar). While doing that, turn the mortar or the bowl clockwise and your pestle or meat mallet anti-clockwise.

When the basil appears like a cream, add the pine kernels and keep squashing. Now add the two different kind of cheese and squash again. Finally you can add the olive oil, little by little. Keep squashing and mixing until the sauce is homogeneous.

Now the pesto sauce is ready, if the water in your pot is boiling put the pasta in it and mix it.

After 8 to 10 minutes taste the pasta, drain it and mix it with the pesto sauce.

Serve the pasta hot and enjoy!!!!


Tips and suggestions:

- If you don't find Trenette you can use any kind of pasta, better if long (Spaghetti, bucatini and so on)

- When you prepare the sauce be quick, in order to prevent oxidation

- Don't use a mixer, or your pesto will be bitter!!!