There's loads of variations of pesto aren't there? I can't believe in a country with so many culinary variations that there aren't types of pesto that don't contain pine nuts and cheese?
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Jamie's Italian
- Thread starter dwayne
- Start date
There's loads of variations of pesto aren't there? I can't believe in a country with so many culinary variations that there aren't types of pesto that don't contain pine nuts and cheese?
Did you not get a feel for what the locals were eating when you lived there?
MattBackHome
Well-known member
- Jul 7, 2003
- 11,833
Quite - £5 for braised chicken + trimmings and a drink at The Wheatsheaf in Worthing is very much more the ticket if you want to beat the credit crunch, I would say. That, or make your own sandwiches instead.
Easy 10
Brain dead MUG SHEEP
I have a strong aversion to paying for pasta dishes in Italian restaurants. Most of them charge nigh on a tenner for some pasta shells, a creamy sauce, a sprig of parsley and a bored waitress to come round and sprinkle some parmesan out of a table leg. Piss off. I could knock up that dish in less than 5 minutes for about a quid.
adrian29uk
New member
- Sep 10, 2003
- 3,389
Trust me, with my mum being Italian I know what good pasta and traditional sauce should taste like. Some of the stuff that is served in these restaurants is not that great.
My auntie still makes proper 100% traditional sauce in southern Italy.
I bought 6 bottles of it back last time I visited and it is the best tasting sauce ever for pasta.
If this restaurant is meant to be traditional you need to find out how old the Parmesan cheese is before grating.
My thoughts exactly.
Yoda
English & European
True, but pesto is more a northern thing in Italy. Originally from Genoa, which is the nut's and cheese version. In Tuscany they use walnuts and no cheese. Not sure about futher south.
I would love to know what his reciepe for Bolognese Sauce is though. I know how to make it the proper way (and have a variation of my own).
I'm well up for this thread. Can you share your recipe for bolognese?
Jesus Gul
Well-known member
- Feb 23, 2004
- 5,497
defrost some mince in the microwave...lob it in a pan with some Dolmio...Robert's yer mother's brother
..and serve with chips eh?
Schoolboy error there.
Chips and garlic bread (2 frozen garlic baguettes for a quid from your supermarket of choice).
Jesus Gul
Well-known member
- Feb 23, 2004
- 5,497
Crispy Polenta Chips with Rosemary Salt perlease
The king of the Jar of pasta sauce has to be Barilla - Basilico. Steer well clear of Ragu/Dolmio and all the available corn oil American imports
Got that a bit wrong Yoda I am afraid. Pesto relates to the way in which it is prepared and not to the ingredients. There are many types of pesto - the thing they have in common is that they are all prepared by pounding the ingredients together. Hey pesto!
Pesto (Italian ['pesto], Genoese ['pestu]) is a sauce originating in Genoa in the Liguria region of northern Italy (pesto alla genovese). The name is the contracted past participle of pestâ ("to pound, to crush", from the same Latin root as the English word pestle), in reference to the sauce's crushed herbs and garlic.
Variations
A slightly different version of the sauce exists in Provence, where it is known as Pistou. In contrast with the genovese pesto, pistou is generally made with olive oil, basil and garlic only: while cheese may be added, usually no nuts are included. Pistou is used in the typical soupe au pistou, a hearty vegetable soup with pistou flavour. The sauce did not originally contain basil, however. Instead, cheese and olive oil were the main constituents.
Sometimes almonds are used instead of pine nuts, and sometimes mint leaves are mixed in with the basil leaves.
Pesto alla siciliana is a sauce from Sicily similar to Genovese pesto but with the addition of tomato and much less basil.
Pesto alla calabrese is a sauce from Calabria consisting of (grilled) bell peppers, black pepper and more. Therefore, it has a spicy taste.
Other existing ingredient variations include: arugula (instead of or in addition to basil), black olives, lemon peel, coriander or mushrooms.[5] A German variety uses ramsons leaves instead of basil. In the 19th century, Genovese immigrants to Argentina brought pesto recipes with them. A Peruvian variety, known as "Tallarin Verde" (literally "Green Noodles", from Italian tagliarini) is slightly creamier, uses spinach leaves and is served with potatoes and sirloin steak.
Vegan variations of pesto can include mixes of fresh basil, walnut, olive oil and miso paste.
I imagine the same derivation for words such as pestle (and mortar)
Pesto (Italian ['pesto], Genoese ['pestu]) is a sauce originating in Genoa in the Liguria region of northern Italy (pesto alla genovese). The name is the contracted past participle of pestâ ("to pound, to crush", from the same Latin root as the English word pestle), in reference to the sauce's crushed herbs and garlic.
Variations
A slightly different version of the sauce exists in Provence, where it is known as Pistou. In contrast with the genovese pesto, pistou is generally made with olive oil, basil and garlic only: while cheese may be added, usually no nuts are included. Pistou is used in the typical soupe au pistou, a hearty vegetable soup with pistou flavour. The sauce did not originally contain basil, however. Instead, cheese and olive oil were the main constituents.
Sometimes almonds are used instead of pine nuts, and sometimes mint leaves are mixed in with the basil leaves.
Pesto alla siciliana is a sauce from Sicily similar to Genovese pesto but with the addition of tomato and much less basil.
Pesto alla calabrese is a sauce from Calabria consisting of (grilled) bell peppers, black pepper and more. Therefore, it has a spicy taste.
Other existing ingredient variations include: arugula (instead of or in addition to basil), black olives, lemon peel, coriander or mushrooms.[5] A German variety uses ramsons leaves instead of basil. In the 19th century, Genovese immigrants to Argentina brought pesto recipes with them. A Peruvian variety, known as "Tallarin Verde" (literally "Green Noodles", from Italian tagliarini) is slightly creamier, uses spinach leaves and is served with potatoes and sirloin steak.
Vegan variations of pesto can include mixes of fresh basil, walnut, olive oil and miso paste.
I imagine the same derivation for words such as pestle (and mortar)
PS I recommend growing your own basil from seed to make your own pesto alla genovese. It grows really well in pots or in any sunny spot in the South of England.
Brilliant drizzled over tomatoes and then slowly roasted in a medium oven. Good way to use up your glut tomatoes. Serve at room temp or cool and sieve to make a lovely pasta sauce.
Brilliant drizzled over tomatoes and then slowly roasted in a medium oven. Good way to use up your glut tomatoes. Serve at room temp or cool and sieve to make a lovely pasta sauce.
Two ways I make our tom sauce at home:
"Instant" - with no onions. Splosh oil in a warm pan, toss in some crushed garlic give it a minute to infuse - you aren't really frying it and you don't want it to brown. If using dried herbs add the now - good pinch of basil, oregano or marjoram, thyme if you like it. Italians would probably add chilli too - not powder, but those lovely dried chillies with a bit of kick and sweetness to them. Add a tin or two of crushed toms (or get the cheapest tin toms you can and squash them through your fingers). Add dessert spoon of balsamic or any non-malt vinegar and the same of sugar (these two are key - they bring a lot out of the toms). Option - if you have wine left in the fridge add a good glug now - adding liquid at this stage does improve the texture of the final sauce. Stir it well, and let it simmer gently to drive off some moisture and allow toms to break down and mellow. Give it at least 30 minutes if you can and cook it gently, you're not torturing the ingredients. If using fresh herbs add these 5 mins from the end.
If you have the oven going for something else (not too hot) then bung all of the above in a casserole dish and give it two hours at the bottom of the oven. Genuinely instant food.
"Classic" - pretty much as above but soften onions in the oil first until very soft. You cannot rush this bit or they will either be hard in the final sauce (they stop softening as soon as you add the toms) or they will be too caramelised and they will taste 'bitty'. When they are really soft - 20-30 mins on a low heat - then carry on as above.
I don't tend to liquidise our tom sauce - but some people do and if you need a very smooth sauce for your pasta you can do so. You could also add sun dried tomatoes but they aren't necessary.
"Instant" - with no onions. Splosh oil in a warm pan, toss in some crushed garlic give it a minute to infuse - you aren't really frying it and you don't want it to brown. If using dried herbs add the now - good pinch of basil, oregano or marjoram, thyme if you like it. Italians would probably add chilli too - not powder, but those lovely dried chillies with a bit of kick and sweetness to them. Add a tin or two of crushed toms (or get the cheapest tin toms you can and squash them through your fingers). Add dessert spoon of balsamic or any non-malt vinegar and the same of sugar (these two are key - they bring a lot out of the toms). Option - if you have wine left in the fridge add a good glug now - adding liquid at this stage does improve the texture of the final sauce. Stir it well, and let it simmer gently to drive off some moisture and allow toms to break down and mellow. Give it at least 30 minutes if you can and cook it gently, you're not torturing the ingredients. If using fresh herbs add these 5 mins from the end.
If you have the oven going for something else (not too hot) then bung all of the above in a casserole dish and give it two hours at the bottom of the oven. Genuinely instant food.
"Classic" - pretty much as above but soften onions in the oil first until very soft. You cannot rush this bit or they will either be hard in the final sauce (they stop softening as soon as you add the toms) or they will be too caramelised and they will taste 'bitty'. When they are really soft - 20-30 mins on a low heat - then carry on as above.
I don't tend to liquidise our tom sauce - but some people do and if you need a very smooth sauce for your pasta you can do so. You could also add sun dried tomatoes but they aren't necessary.
Someone post a nice AUTHENTIC Italian tomate sauce recipe will ya. Mine are always SWAG and too thin.
Sort a brother out.
Not what you want but this is a greate simple dish
I can highly recommend the DK (Dorling Kindersly) 'Pasta' book by Eric Treuille and Anna Del Conte. It has some brilliant simple quick pasta recipes. The ones with scallops are excellent. It also has some tips on how to cook pasta and fold the ingredients in. This might seem strange but I discovered I was always over draining mine....leaving a bit more water in non-hollow pasta like spag makes a big difference.
It doesnt claim to be authentic but it is bloody good and a darn site better and quicker than so called 'convenience' food.
It doesnt claim to be authentic but it is bloody good and a darn site better and quicker than so called 'convenience' food.
Lord Bracknell
On fire
When I was living in Italy, apart from an American family who lived a couple of miles away and an English woman who had married an Italian POW at the end of the war, I was the only native English speaker in the small town I lived in.
Every meal I ever ate locally was in the company of the locals. As I said earlier, I never saw cream used for anything other than cakes - and then only rarely, since it was a "well-known fact" that fresh dairy produce was a health hazard. Ice cream was OK, because freezing made milk safe.