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Classic pesto, as defined in its birthplace of Genoa, Italy, contains only seven ingredients: basil, pine nuts, Parmesan and pecorino cheeses, garlic, coarse salt, and olive oil.Roberto Panizza, a renowned pesto expert, will visit Columbus to conduct a pesto master class and judge a local pesto competition.The winner of the Columbus competition will have the opportunity to compete in the Pesto World Championship in Genoa.
No matter what people in the rest of the world do to it, the classic pesto sauce of its birthplace in Genoa, Italy, has just seven ingredients: basil, pine nuts, Parmesan and pecorino cheeses, garlic, coarse salt and olive oil.
No more, no less, no different.
Roberto Panizza, a Genoa restaurateur credited with reviving appreciation for the ancient sauce in both its hometown and around the world, will be in Columbus on March 21 and 22 to teach a pesto master class and judge entrants in a local pesto competition. The winner will earn a spot in next year’s Pesto World Championship.
Neither the local preliminary nor the international final rewards creativity. You won’t see people adding cream or sun-dried tomatoes or introducing other flavors into their pestos with different nuts or herbs. Each contestant gets the same seven ingredients and a mortar and pestle to prepare them. It’s a skills competition, won based on who achieves the best balance of flavors.
“It boils down to tiny details,” said Marcello Canova, an Ohio State University mechanical engineering professor who won the local pesto title in 2018. The native of Mantua, Italy, said pesto captures the essence of Italian cooking in one sauce with its emphasis on fresh, high-quality ingredients and its simple preparation.
How does Columbus continually score a spot in the Pesto World Championship, which Canova said is covered in Genoa the way a sporting event would be covered here?
It pays to have friends in ancient places.
Columbus has longstanding ties to Genoa. The birthplace of Christopher Columbus and the biggest city in the world named after him have been sister cities since 1955. Jayme Staley, executive director of Greater Columbus Sister Cities International, said cultural exchanges are a big part of the relationship among sister cities.
When Reese Flowers represented the city in Genoa after winning the local pesto title in 2020, it was his first trip overseas. The executive chef at Degrees, on the Columbus State Community College Downtown campus, was struck by the relaxed style of dining in Italy and the reverence for food traditions.
How can I make my own pesto?
Flowers offered this advice: “It would all be a marriage. You don’t want one ingredient to be more pronounced.” He said he also has become “a bit of a traditionalist” since his experience on pesto’s world stage, preferring a mortar and pestle to a food processor.
If you do use a food processor, Flowers suggested pulsing the garlic and pine nuts first, removing them from the bowl and then pulsing the basil, cheeses and olive oil. Fold them together to finish.
Mortar-made pesto sauce
Ingredients
4 bunches of fresh Genovese basil30 grams pine nuts (about one-quarter cup)45-60 grams aged Parmesan cheese, grated (1.5-2 ounces)20-40 grams Fiore Sardo cheese, grated (one-quarter to 1 ounce)1-2 garlic cloves10 grams coarse salt (2 teaspoons)60-80 cubic centimeters extra-virgin olive oil (one-quarter to one-third cup)
Instructions
Wash the basil leaves in cold water and dry them on a tea towel, but don’t rub them.
In a mortar, finely crush the garlic clove and pine nuts until they are smooth. Add a few grains of salt and the non-pressed basil leaves, then pound the mixture using a light circular movement of the pestle against the sides.
When the basil drips bright green liquid, add the Parmesan cheese and the Fiore Sardo cheese.
Pour in a thin layer of olive oil, which lightly blends the ingredients without overdoing.
The preparation must be done as quickly as possible to avoid oxidation, which turns basil leaves brown.
Notes
Genovese basil is an official designation of the European Union, so the basil or seeds to grow it might be sold locally as sweet basil.If you can’t find Fiore Sardo, a hard Sardinian cheese made with sheep’s milk, try pecorino Romano instead.We’ve included both metric and U.S. measurements, but the recipe was shared originally with just metric amounts. Consider them the most precise.
(This is the official pesto recipe of the Pesto World Championship.)
Where can I get pesto in Columbus?
Pesto dishes in Columbus won’t win the hearts of purists in Genoa, but we have our own way of doing things around here.
Canova compared riffs on pesto to the many different ways people make tomato sauce. Everyone wants to make it their own, he said.
Still…
“You’re talking to an Italian, so I will tell you, the simplest is the best,” he said.
Here’s a sampling of pesto dishes around central Ohio.
Degrees: Flowers’ restaurant at Columbus State Community College currently is serving pesto as part of a salmon dish. It’s a house-made pasta and pesto cream sauce, baby spinach, caramelized onions and mushrooms, topped with salmon and lemon gremolata. Details: 250 Cleveland Ave., Downtown; 614-287-5578; degrees.cscc.edu.
Pastaria: The vendor at North Market Downtown serves pesto (made with Romano cheese and almonds in addition to pine nuts) over fusilli, and its Pastaria Seconda market sells pesto sauce in take-home containers and fresh pasta for those looking to make their meal at home. Details: 59 Spruce St., Downtown; 614-228-2850; pastarianorthmarket.com.
SŌW Plated: The Upper Arlington restaurant that bills its menu as “good-for-you food” makes a vegan pesto with cilantro and pumpkin seeds and serves it on penne (with mushrooms, edamame, roasted garlic, kale, cherry tomatoes and plant-based ricotta), in a brown rice and quinoa bowl (with roasted squash and zucchini, roasted red peppers, dates and kalamata olives) or on a caprese chicken sandwich. Details: 1625 W. Lane Ave., Upper Arlington; 614-826-0028; sowplated.com.
Gallo’s restaurants: Gallo’s on High (4215 N. High St., Clintonville; 614-674-6223; gallosonhigh.com) adds its house-made pesto sauce to a grilled-cheese sandwich and drizzles it on top of a bacon, pesto and tomato pizza. Gallo’s Kitchen & Bar (2820 Nottingham Road; 614-754-8176; galloskitchen.com) offers a burrata appetizer that comes with grilled bread, pistachio pesto, tomato chutney and a balsamic glaze. Gallo’s Pizza & Bar (5851 Frantz Road, Dublin; 614-389-1412; gallospizzaandbar.com) has a burrata appetizer with pistachio pesto and a grilled portobello sandwich that comes with pesto aioli, roasted red peppers, provolone, arugula and a balsamic drizzle. Gallo’s Pizzeria (6750 Longshore St., Dublin; 614-683-8784; gallospizzeria.com) makes a pizza topped with a garlic and oil base, pesto chicken, sauteed spinach and red onion.
Buck City Sammies: The East Market vendor uses pesto as a dressing on two of its sandwiches: The Yo, Adrian! has spicy and traditional salamis, capicola, mozzarella, arugula and a house pesto, while the Toasty Tammy includes smoked turkey, chive cream cheese, basil pesto, arugula and apple chutney. Details: 212 Kelton Ave., Near East Side; buckcitysammies.com.
Can I join the Columbus pesto party?
Panizza’s master class on pesto is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Friday, March 21 at Fortin Iron Works, 944 W. Fifth Ave. in Fifth by Northwest. Tickets, which are limited, are $100 and available through the Columbus Sister Cities website: columbussistercities.com/columbus-pesto-championship.
The Columbus Pesto Championship is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 22 at Columbus State’s Mitchell Hall, 250 Cleveland Ave., Downtown. Tickets are $15, $10 for students or $30 for families. They’re also available through the Columbus Sister Cities website.
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Restaurant recommendations: Check out Columbus Monthly’s listings for dining options
Dining and Cooking