Basil Pesto! Genovese or Bolognese? (or does it matter?)

Winter is coming, so it was time to start my indoor hydroponic basil, but when I ordered the seeds from Renee’s Garden, I was given an impossible choice between Genovese and Bolognese, so I bought them both. 😎

So far they’re only a few inches tall, but they look mostly identical.

**Is one really better than the other for pesto? Is there a real flavor difference?**

Thanks!

Terry

Photos of the two varieties – [Bolognese on the left, Genovese on the right](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOmAixKVJIhwVkKwg2xKXaX0XSv71YwbaeZYpNm1V2eNdYb1-KKSGbXulWf6gm6KQ?key=Q1NIcy1iNW9tYTVCb0tsTUphcVBzOXFIMS1OaGlB)

Recipe pasted below but [the formatting is much nicer on the website](https://www.bupkis.org/index.php/recipes-2/sauces/basil-pesto) (no ads, no tracking, no long winded blog. Just my recipes)

**Basil Pesto**

**Ingredients:**
* 3 Cups Fresh (live) Basil, including the delicate stems. Remove the hard, woody stems.

* 1/3 Cup Lightly Salted, Dry-Roasted Cashews. Lightly Salted, Dry-Roasted Cashews. Halves and pieces are fine. The difference in flavor between Cashews and Pine Nuts is undetectable and there’s about a $30/pound difference in price. Also with the increase in cases of Pine Mouth, I decided that it was time for a change.

* 1 or 2 Ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (a block about 1/2″ x 2″ x 2″), grated
* 2 Cloves Garlic

* Extra Virgin Olive Oil
* 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Careful! – There’s very little difference between enough salt to make it perfect and enough to make it too salty

**Recipe**

* Add the nuts to the food processor with a sharp metal blade and as grind finely as possible.
* Add the grated cheese and garlic cloves and salt and process as finely as possible.
* Add the basil to the food processor and process until as finely as possible.
* With the food processor still running, add Extra Virgin Olive oil until it has the consistency of a thick sauce. If the nut/garlic/basil mixture sticks to the side of the bowl, you’ll need to stop and scrape it down to make sure it’s all mixed properly.

**Notes**

* I know the food processor is cheating, and I actually have made it with a mortar and pestle, and it was quite lovely, but the arthritis in my hands doesn’t enjoy crushing things with rocks. 😎

* Basil Pesto was traditionally made with pine nuts, however since pine nuts have been over $30/pound, I’ve switched to dry-roasted, lightly-salted cashews, which are about $6/pound, and nobody has ever noticed.

* The delicate stems taste just as good as the leaves and there’s no need to waste them. Use everything except the thick, woody stems.

* Store the extra pesto in the refrigerator in a glass jar with a lid. Before refrigerating, smooth out the surface and gently float a thin layer of olive oil on top. The oil will keep air away from the pesto and will prevent it from discoloring.

by bupkisdotorg