Pesto

Pesto, or pesto genovese, is an Italian paste traditionally made from Genovese basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, Parmesan or Grana Padano, pecorino sardo, pine nuts and garlic, originating in the Ligurian city of Genoa and used to dress pasta; its name comes from the Genoese verb for to pound, reflecting how the ingredients are traditionally ground in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle. It descends from older pounded pastes, including the ancient Roman moretum of garlic, salt, cheese, herbs, olive oil and vinegar, and the medieval Genoese agliata of garlic and walnuts, but basil became its defining ingredient only from around the 1850s, with early basil-based recipes published by Emanuele Rossi in 1852 and Giovanni Battista Ratto in 1863; pesto became widely popular in North America during the 1980s and 1990s.