Trenette Col Pesto
For Pesto Sauce:
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
Pinch coarse salt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated Romano cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons softened butter
Put basil, pine nuts, garlic and salt in mortar*. Without pounding but using a rotary movement, grind ingredients against sides of the mortar with pestle. When ingredients are ground to a paste, add grated cheeses, grinding until well blended. Add olive oil, a few drops at a time, beating after each addition with a wooden spoon. Lastly, beat in butter.
For trenette:
3 small potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced
1 pound fettuccine noodles
5 quarts boiling salted water
Cook sliced potatoes in boiling salted water until nearly tender. Add fettuccine, cooking until al dente. Drain fettuccine and potatoes, reserving 1 or 2 tablespoons cooking water. Blend hot cooking water with sauce, mixing well. Toss trenette well with pesto sauce. Serve at once.
Serves 6.
Afterthoughts: The Genoese, who invented pesto, insist it cannot be made without their native basil in a marble mortar. The Genoese basil derives its flavor partially from the soil, and the salty Mediterranean sea breezes that touch the herbs. Traditional recipes never use butter or pine nuts. Americans can make pesto in blender with excellent results. Two or more tablespoons of pesto are a splendid additon to minestrone.
*I use a food processor.
According to the artcile this was Vittorio Gassman's recipe and I want to place it here so it is not lost.
Enjoy!
For Pesto Sauce:
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
Pinch coarse salt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated Romano cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons softened butter
Put basil, pine nuts, garlic and salt in mortar*. Without pounding but using a rotary movement, grind ingredients against sides of the mortar with pestle. When ingredients are ground to a paste, add grated cheeses, grinding until well blended. Add olive oil, a few drops at a time, beating after each addition with a wooden spoon. Lastly, beat in butter.
For trenette:
3 small potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced
1 pound fettuccine noodles
5 quarts boiling salted water
Cook sliced potatoes in boiling salted water until nearly tender. Add fettuccine, cooking until al dente. Drain fettuccine and potatoes, reserving 1 or 2 tablespoons cooking water. Blend hot cooking water with sauce, mixing well. Toss trenette well with pesto sauce. Serve at once.
Serves 6.
Afterthoughts: The Genoese, who invented pesto, insist it cannot be made without their native basil in a marble mortar. The Genoese basil derives its flavor partially from the soil, and the salty Mediterranean sea breezes that touch the herbs. Traditional recipes never use butter or pine nuts. Americans can make pesto in blender with excellent results. Two or more tablespoons of pesto are a splendid additon to minestrone.
*I use a food processor.
According to the artcile this was Vittorio Gassman's recipe and I want to place it here so it is not lost.
Enjoy!