GO GREEN

Savour Genoa’s authentic flavours on this delectable pasta and pesto making lesson. In the setting of a splendid Renaissance palazzo, gourmands will learn how to create one of the city’s signature dishes. A fun, hands-on culinary session, a delicious home-made meal and friendly, entertaining hosts constitute the prime raw materials of an unforgettable Ligurian morning.

Pesto is unarguably one of the best-known and most celebrated condiments of Mediterranean cuisine. Strict rules and regulations define the ingredients and production methods of this fragrant green sauce that features Genoese basil as absolute protagonist, along with Italian extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano, Pecorino cheese, garlic, pine nuts and sea salt. The name pesto derives from the word pestare, meaning to crush something with a pestle, to reduce it to a mash or powder and refers to the preparation of this condiment with a pestle and mortar. Basil is washed and dried carefully, then it is pressed with the other ingredients until it becomes a smooth paste.

According to legend, pesto genovese, was first invented in the Middle Ages by a friar who lived in a convent named after Saint Basilio, located on the hills close to the town of Prà. One day, as a homage to the saint, he picked the aromatic herb that grew nearby, called basilium, and mixed it with other ingredients that devotees had brought as offerings to the convent, thus creating the very first pesto sauce. The real origins of pesto may well be quite a different story. Some believe the roots of pesto stretch way back to the ancient Romans’ moretum, a green paste obtained from cheese, garlic and herbs. However the earliest reference to pesto as we know it today dates to 1863, when Giovanni Battista Ratto published the recipe compendium La Cuciniera Genovese, considered to be the first and most complete book on Ligurian gastronomy.

You will meet your hosts at a centrally located venue and begin your day with a brief visit to a lavishly decorated 16th century palazzo. Next, head for the kitchen and enjoy a genuinely local and culturally enriching experience. As you unveil the secrets behind the creation of traditional pasta al pesto, your hosts will season your lesson with a sprinkling of useful tips, a pinch of interesting facts on Genoese culinary heritage and a spoonful of information about the origins of the ingredients you will use.

After the class, tuck into the meal you just prepared, accompanied with a refreshing glass of wine. Raise a glass to Genoa and its green delight!