How to make pesto greener? Here is a trick! Take the blades and the bowl of the food processor and put them into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes until the tools are very cold. Meantime, prepare basil leaves washing them with cold water. Finally, place them in a large bowl with plenty of ice for 3-4 minutes.

Now dry the leaves very well on a kitchen towel (important: the basil leaves must be very dry) and place them into the food processor (that now is pretty cold) with garlic, pine nuts and grated Parmigiano. If you will follow these tips you’ll have a very green pesto sauce. Chop the ingredients coarsely for a few seconds then add salt and Pecorino cheese cut into small pieces. Blend all the ingredients for about 1 minute.

Now add extra virgin olive oil. Blend for about 5 minutes, until you’ll get a creamy green pesto sauce. Pesto must not heat up, so be careful to work quickly, using the food processor at minimum speed and at intervals, that is, blend a few seconds, stop and start again.

Before seasoning, if the pesto is very thick, add 1/2 tablespoons of the cooking water; this way you’ll have a warm homogeneous soft pesto sauce ready for your pasta dish. You can even taste Genovese pesto spread on toasted bread, as an appetizer. Delicious!

Store pesto Genovese in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for 2-3 days, taking care to cover the sauce with a layer of extra virgin olive oil.
It’s possible to freeze the pesto in small jars and then defrost it in the refrigerator or at room temperature.