Delish: Eat Like Every Day’s the Weekend
You've seen pesto on pasta and on chicken sandwiches for as long as you can remember. But do you actually know what's in the cheesy green sauce? Have you thought about the ways you can use it that are *gasp* not on pasta or chicken sandwiches? Fear not—Delish is here to show you how the pesto possibilities are truly endless.
SoOoooo...what is pesto?
It's a typically bright green sauce that originated in Genoa, Italy. The word "pesto" is the past tense of the Genoese verb "pestare," which means "to crush." The fact that pesto is typically made by crushing the ingredients with a mortar and pestle probably has something to do with that too.
That checks out. So what's in it?
Though there are plenty of solid reconfigurations of the classic (we'll get there!), the usual combination is of pine nuts, basil, garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. As far as a ratio, we like 1/3 cup of pine nuts, three cups of basil leaves, two cloves of chopped garlic, and 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parm.
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That said, many are fans of swapping out pine nuts, which are expensive, with almonds or walnuts. Should you not have basil lying around, spinach, kale, or arugula make a nice—albeit deeper green—substitute too. Really feel like getting wild? Pretty much any green you can think of will work. See: avocado, broccoli, etc.
Sounds good. What do I put it on if not pasta?
Well, don't get me wrong, pasta is one of the best (and arguably the most delicious) vessels for pesto, and there are a million pesto pasta recipes worth your time. In case you feel like getting crazy, though, put pesto on your chicken, veggies, salad, rice, burgers, seafood, pizza, and *deep breath* did I mention ALL THE PASTA?
Tess Koman covers breaking (food) news, opinion pieces, and features on larger happenings in the food world. She oversees editorial content on Delish. Her work has appeared on Cosmopolitan.com, Elle.com, and Esquire.com.
