A caller on last night's broadcast of The Splendid Table wanted to know, was basil even in the first pesto? And, with chefs making pestos that included everything from pumpkin to kale - are these, really, pestos - or just sauces? Lynne Rosetto-Kasper takes us back to ancient Roman times, and explains that the word "pesto" comes from the word "pestare," which means, "to crush." No, basil was not used in the original version - it wasn't considered edible thousands of years ago. There is a poem from Virgil about a peasant making pesto from garlic and coriander.
Today, "real" pesto would be made with fresh basil, from the city of Genoa, from a tiny suburb of the city that's considered to have the perfect basil. She says that the key to true pesto is using young basil, garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese, and of course using a mortar and pestle. Anything else can be called pesto, but it's fantasia - a fantasy.
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