Summer’s Here – Bring on the Pesto!
Dramatic news last week with the city of Genoa announcing that travelers departing from Genoa’s Cristoforo Colombo airport are now permitted up to 500 milliliters (about 2 cups) of pesto per passenger in carry-on baggage, thwarting otherwise strict rules prohibiting liquids, creams, gels and oils. Anxious travelers can now breathe a sigh of relief not to have their precious pesto cargo confiscated, provided it is authentic Genovese pesto, certified for authenticity and safety for a “fee” of €.50 Euro cents. Happily, the fees are donated to charity.
Rapallo near the city of Genoa
The region of Genoa, birthplace of pesto, can stand proud to have come up with a clever solution, not to mention a public relations coup, with the announcement covered by major news outlets throughout the world including the UK’s BBC News, The Guardian and Daily Telegraph to Travel + Leisure Magazine and National Public Radio!
We applaud you Genoa and thank you for the reminder that if there’s one pasta that shouts summer flavor it is pasta with pesto!
Pasta with Pesto
As with the best of so many Italian foods that rely on fresh and flavor inexpensive ingredients, pesto is easy to make: fresh basil, the highest quality extra virgin olive oil you can find, pecorino cheese (substitute good quality Parmigiano Reggiano if you don’t have pecorino) , pine nuts, garlic and salt. There are plenty of recipes online, but fresh store bought Italian brands such as Rana and Barilla are good too.
Here’s to a wonderful summer feast of pasta with pesto sauce!
Enjoy your pesto in our vacation rentals:
