When we talk about pesto, we think directly of Genoa, the Ligurian city has made green sauce its emblematic dish, accompanied by pasta or on focaccia. However, the Italian giant Barilla has decided to locate its production plant and basil fields in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna.
In Parma, the Academia Barilla provides advice to chefs around the world on how to make the best use of pesto. Chef Marcello Zaccaria, aware of the French’s shortcomings in cooking pasta correctly, decided to give us some advice. It all starts in a large saucepan, “What is very important is the proportion of pasta, water and salt… For 100 grams of pasta, you need 1,000 milliliters of water and 7 grams of salt” insists the Italian.
The shells? In the closet
Then, we will mix the pasta with the pesto and be careful, “you must not mix the sauce in the pan, you must not heat it”, explained by the chef. The recipe seems very simple, “you can even mix the pasta with vegetables like potatoes or green beans”. And for the choice of pastaput away your shells, “normally if you go to Liguria, the pesto region, the recipe will be made with trofie. But you can have linguine or other long pastas,” explains Marcello Zaccaria.
