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Italian food is very popular all over the world. With an excellent flavour profile, dishes like pizza, risotto, pasta, lasagna and gnocchi rule our palate. But this cuisine has a lot of culinary treasure that we still need to explore. One such Italian element is pesto sauce. This refreshing and flavourful delight is widely used in the Italian dishes.
This sauce originated in the city of Genoa in the Liguria region of Italy and was originally called ‘moretum’. Another amazing fact about pesto is in 2018 it was nominated in the United Nation's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The term 'pesto' came from the Italian word 'pestare', which translates to pound or crush. The basic ingredients for making this dish are basil leaves, cheese, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.
This chunky and creamy sauce has an oil-based texture and is traditionally prepared in a mortar and pestle. Here are six delicious ways to add pesto to your meals:
For Preparing Dips
Pesto can become an amazing dip for your snacks as well as veggies. The essence of fresh herbs from this sauce will add a delicious flavour to your dip making it irresistible for both children and adults. You can stir pesto into hummus, yoghurt, sour cream, guacamole or any other of your favourite dips.
As A Pizza Sauce
If you are bored of the regular pizza sauce, then use pesto for your homemade recipe. It will give a rich and entirely different flavour to your pizza that you are going to love for sure. Just remember to spread pesto in a lesser amount as compared to tomato sauce because it has a dense flavour. You can also mix pesto into marinara or Alfredo sauce to create a special pizza sauce.
Add A Scoop Into Soup
Soups are a part of our diet in every season. They are delicious, comforting and can be relished with every meal. Adding a scoop of pesto sauce will not only enhance the flavour of your soup but will also give it an interesting texture. The correct time to add pesto in the dish is right after it has been taken off the heat.
Sandwich Spread
Sandwiches are an extremely versatile dish that can be prepared in numerous ways with plenty of ingredients. So, why not replace your regular spread with pesto? It goes well for both veg and non-veg sandwiches. Pesto helps in making the sandwich moist and as it is thick, the spread stays in place. It also goes well for crusty bread or toast.
As A Salad Dressing
Pesto sauce can be a great addition to your salad dressing. The intense flavour of this condiment when combined with grain, rice, chicken or veggies makes your dish yummier. You can also add some other ingredients like buttermilk or mayonnaise to it to enhance the flavour of the salad dressing. Since pesto is thick, it can be made thinner by adding a little more oil or vinegar.
Toss With Pasta
This is the most popular way of using pesto in your cooking. This sauce will give the dish a richer texture and can be served with sides like chicken breast, steak or roasted vegetables. You can also mix vegetables, beans or meat chunks into your pasta with pesto sauce.
