Name: Linguine al pesto (Linguine with pesto)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: about 250 ml (1 cup) olive oil; 40 g (¼ cup) shelled and skinned pine nuts; 30 g (⅓ cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for serving; 30 g (⅓ cup) freshly grated mature pecorino cheese; a bunch of basil, roughly torn; 1 potato (about 150 g or 5½ oz), peeled, halved lengthways and cut into 3 mm (⅛ in) slices; 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) linguine; 10 g (¼ oz) shelled walnuts; 3 garlic cloves, peeled

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Twelve

By Tessa Kiros

Published 2003

About

Traditionally, this sauce is made by hand using a mortar and pestle. If you are making it in a blender, pulse-blend the ingredients to maintain a fairly rough texture. This recipe makes 375 ml (1½ cups).

If you will not be using the pesto immediately, store in the refrigerator in a tightly closed jar, covered with a thin layer of olive oil, where it will keep for up to a week.

A potato is not always added to this dish, but it is said that its starch helps the pesto to hold o