The Official Basil Pesto Recipe

Pesto in a pestle and mortar surrounded by basil leaves

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Meet the World's Most Authentic Pesto

The only pesto recipe recognised by the Pesto Genovese Consortium contains just seven ingredients: basil, olive oil, pine nuts, Parmigiano-Reggiano, pecorino, garlic, and salt. Lots of the ingredients are protected from inferior copycats under EU law.

We're proudly publishing the legendary recipe to reward you with the most delicious and authentic pesto you'll find outside Liguria.

The Green Sea of Liguria

How Many Pesto Recipes Are There?

Browse any supermarket, and you'd be forgiven for thinking that the potential for new and exciting pestos is practically limitless. In some ways, that is true, but it's not a view held by the members of the Pesto Genovese Consortium, who maintain that their recipe is the only one worthy of the name.

The Italians' Love of Pesto Genovese

Pesto Genovese is the official name of the classic basil pesto we all know and love. It's one of the world's greatest sauces, so it's no wonder that the people of Genoa, the recognised birthplace of pesto, hold it dear to their hearts. It's hard to emphasise the passion in the region for their 'green gold', although the beautiful local adage nicely sums it up that pesto is the second thing a Genovese baby tastes after its mother's milk.

Montage showing jars of various basil pesto sauces commercially available

A quick online search throws up hundreds of sauces that purport to be classic basil pesto. Their ingredients, however, vary wildly. Some producers chase cost savings by switching expensive ingredients like extra-virgin olive oil and pine nuts for cheaper alternatives like sunflower oil and cashews. Some use flavourings like basil extract to improve their sauce's taste, while others contain acidity regulators to prolong shelf life. At the bottom of the barrel, you will find sauces containing all kinds of nasties, like egg lysozyme, potato flakes, and refined soya.

The Rise of Alternative Pesto Recipes

Variations in the recipes of different shop-bought, basil-based pestos are just the tip of the iceberg. Widen your search, and you will find thousands of sauces marketed as pesto that contain unconventional ingredients such as beetroot, seaweed, and salami.

Montage showing jars of unconventional pesto sauces

Producers of these sauces argue that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and that it's only natural for food lovers to experiment with recipes and bring new ideas. For traditionalists, though, this form of appropriation is seen as disrespectful to Genoa's cultural heritage.

You may assume that because Italians are so proud of their pesto, only foreign imposters would dare ride on the coattails of its reputation to produce such renegade sauces. Nothing could be further from the truth. Seggiano's pesto line-up includes aubergine, kale, and fennel. Sacla produces truffle, coriander, and red pepper pestos. Meanwhile, the world's biggest pasta producer, Barilla, uses tomato puree, sugar, and balsamic vinegar in one of their most popular pesto products.

The Genovese Want Their Pesto Back

While the Genovese don't claim to have invented pesto, Genoa and the broader region of Liguria are where the classic basil pesto recipe we know today was honed and perfected.

Over the years, regional producers have become increasingly appalled at the plethora of sauces flooding the market that claim to be pesto but are virtually unrecognisable from the classic recipe. In an attempt to protect their recipe from inferior copycats, in 2006, Ligurian farmers and pesto producers successfully proved that the region's basil was so unique that it deserved to be protected under EU law. That means that Basilico Genovese has a 'protected designation of origin' status, which acts as proof of both quality and provenance.

A bunch of basil wrapped in paper showing its protected designation of origin status

Some people in the region don't just want their basil protected by the European Union, but pesto itself. If that kind of protection were ever granted, it would effectively ban any company from calling their sauce 'pesto' unless it followed a precise recipe, was made using an exact production method, and contained ingredients sourced from specific geographical locations.

A basil greenhouse in Liguria

Efforts to Keep the Traditional Pesto Recipe Alive

Most producers accept that pesto is now such a mainstream product that legally protecting it is highly unlikely. Instead, a group of businesspeople and gourmets set up the Palatifini Cultural Association and created the Pesto World Championships to celebrate and promote the original recipe to a global audience.

In the lead-up to the biennial competition, delegates are sent to countries worldwide to judge heats and select the best pesto maker in their country. In a lavish ceremony at the Doge's Palace in the heart of Genoa, 100 finalists compete to make the best pesto using only the seven allowed ingredients. The event generates plenty of publicity and is seen as a vital way to keep the traditional recipe alive and in people's minds.

Woman competing in the Pesto World Championships

The Official Basil Pesto Recipe

Sourcing the ingredients required to make a genuine basil pesto is undeniably tricky. Your best bet is the premium Italian food importer Eataly, which has shops in several capital cities, including London, Paris, and Stockholm. Everyone else must make a few compromises, so we're accompanying this recipe with a simplified version. We've also given some recommendations for substitute ingredients. Both recipes will make enough pesto for 4-6 servings.

Ingredient Quantity
Riviera Ligure olive oil (PDO) 65g
Genovese basil (PDO) 60g
Pisa pine nuts 30g
Parmigiano-Reggiano (PDO) 30g
Pecorino Fiore Sardo (PDO) 20g
Vessalico garlic 1 clove
Trapani sea salt pinch

The ingredients needed to make authentic basil pesto

Our Simplified Basil Pesto Recipe

While the following recipe cannot be considered 100% authentic, if you use the finest ingredients you can afford, you will be rewarded with a far superior pesto than anything you find in the supermarket.

Ingredient Quantity
Olive oil 65g
Basil 60g
Parmesan 50g
Pine nuts 30g
Garlic 1 clove
Salt pinch

Substitute Ingredients

Oil
Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil is famed for its flavour, aroma, health benefits, and the fact that it hasn't undergone extensive processing. For these reasons, we urge you to spend a little extra on the good stuff, but even regular olive oil will make your sauce far superior to one made from cheaper neutral oils like vegetable oil or canola oil.

Don't assume that all extra virgin olive oils are equal. The official pesto recipe dictates that it must come from the Italian Riviera, where the oil is famed for having moderate fruitiness and tiny bitter and spicy notes prevalent in oils from other regions. A good delicatessen can help you choose the most similar oil, but if all else fails, stick to the generic stuff in the supermarket. Big supermarket chains don't generally cater to foodies, so they tend to sell generic products that are not imbued with any award-winning character but won't offend their customers with potentially divisive flavours.

Basil
Basil is exceptionally prone to bruising and does not travel well, so getting hold of Genovese basil outside Liguria is almost impossible. However, if you buy a fresh basil plant (the sweet variety, not Thai basil) and use only the smallest leaves, you'll get close enough to the real deal.

Pine nuts
Pine nuts from China are cheaper than those from the Mediterranean but have a notable downside. For some people, eating them can result in a condition called 'pine mouth', which causes a lingering metallic aftertaste lasting for weeks. It's simply not worth the risk. Sunflower or pumpkin seeds make decent alternatives if you can't afford pine nuts.

Cheeses
The official basil pesto recipe calls for pecorino and Parmigiano-Reggiano, but these cheeses vary greatly in sharpness, saltiness, and intensity. Rather than ruining your pesto by choosing the wrong cheese, stick to generic Parmesan. Grana Padano can also be used at a stretch.

Garlic
While different varieties of garlic have slightly different flavour profiles, the intensity of their taste is much more affected by the way you process them than the specific variety. Chop garlic cloves with a knife for the most mellow taste, or grate them if you want your garlic to be so spicy that you'll think you've been assaulted.

Salt
The official pesto recipe calls for salt from Trapani in Sicily. It's easy enough to buy online, but we're not convinced it's worth the expense. Ensure you use sea salt flakes rather than heavily processed table salt, and you'll be fine. Not only will the flavour be superior, but those flakes will also act as an abrasive when breaking down the garlic.

Basil pesto being made in a pestle and mortar

How to Make Pesto

For complete authenticity, pesto should be made with a pestle and mortar. This isn't done out of sentimentality; pounding and crushing ingredients releases more of their essential oils and volatile flavours than if the blades of a food processor sliced them. If you don't own a pestle and mortar or can't be bothered with the hassle, then an electric blender or food processor will do. Just make sure to add the oil by hand at the end because processing it at high speeds can turn it bitter.

Start by half-slicing a single garlic clove and discarding the green "germ" running down the middle, if it has one. Add the garlic to your mortar with a generous pinch of salt and crush until it is well broken down.

Add the pine nuts and rotate the pestle around the sides of the mortar to create a paste.

When the nuts are fully broken down, add the basil leaves, ideally using the smallest ones, as they taste extra sweet. Continue working the sauce for another minute or two until you reach a smooth consistency.

Add the cheese, work the sauce for another minute, and then slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the sauce is silky and super creamy.

Have a taste, and add some extra salt or garlic if needed.

A bowl of silk handkerchief pasta mixed with bright green pesto

How to Serve Pesto

Pesto is best served immediately to prevent the herbs from oxidising and dulling the sauce's flavour. However, it will last three days without excessive deterioration in the fridge.

Pesto and pasta are two of gastronomy's great love affairs. If you've made your pesto, it would be a disservice to serve it with poor-quality pasta. Therefore, we always recommend opting for bronze-die pasta if your budget allows, or better yet, making it yourself from scratch.

If you want to experience what the inhabitants of Liguria have been eating pesto, try pairing your sauce with traditional pasta shapes, such as trofie, trenette, or corzetti. Pesto is a proudly raw sauce, so it doesn't need to be heated in anything other than the residual heat of the pasta. Cooking destroys all those amazingly fresh flavours you've put so much effort into encapsulating.

Pesto's Life Beyond Pasta

While pesto will forever be synonymous with pasta, there are plenty more strings to its bow, not just as a topping for pizza or bruschetta. Here, we've compiled a handy guide to using pesto.