At the Genoa Pesto World Championship, which is held in the Ligurian capital after the selections and preliminaries take place at the end of the previous year, the chefs will compete in the final competition to obtain the title of World Genoese Pesto Champion.
The championship is also open to amateur cooking enthusiasts from any country in the world. Competitors are always provided with the best quality raw materials and the most suitable tools to perform in front of the jury of experts who will award the title. But the celebration is not limited to the competition: it is a 10-day event with many Ligurian restaurants as partners which are open for tastings, cooking shows and menus at special prices, all offering specialties with pesto, of course.
Pesto is a dish with ancient origins: already Virgil, in Roman times, spoke of Moretum, a sort of cheese pesto and the first recipe for basil pesto (apparently called by the Latin name Ocimum basilicum) dates back to the nineteenth century, preceded by a series of pounded sauces such as agliata, or walnut and garlic sauce, already commonly prepared in Liguria during the years of the Maritime Republic of Genoa.
The variety of basil called Genovese, although equally ancient, is considered as an Italian fruit and vegetable product with a protected designation of origin: its cultivation extends throughout the region, but the oldest place of cultivation is a specific neighborhood of Genoa , the Pra' quarter.
Small to medium sized leaves, delicate scent, pale green color, Genoese basil is generally sown in spring and watered with rainwater, the best for this type of plant.
According to the original recipe, and unlike what many people might think, the ingredients of Genoese pesto are seven: young basil leaves from Pra', extra virgin Ligurian olive oil with its particularly delicate flavor, Italian pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, pecorino cheese, Ligurian garlic, and coarse sea salt.
Pesto is used also by our region tourist office as an an attraction for tourists.
Many are the pesto tours offered in Genoa: tours during which visitors can explore the alleyways, have tastings on bruschetta (toasted bread) or in cold pasta salads, buy from local producers and see how it is prepared in a traditional way. Visitors can also do hands-on tours in which they can learn how to prepare the ‘green sauce’ using a mortar and even buy a stone mortar to take home.
Just last November, a huge inflatable mortar with inflatable basil leaves sailed on a barge on the river Thames in London aiming at promoting Ligurian food, wine and the entire region, which is getting increasingly open to international tourism.
Genoese pesto with pine nuts
There is another championship which attracts visitors: the Pandolce Championship organized in collaboration with the Liguria Region, the Municipality of Genoa and the Genoa Chamber of Commerce. The Genoese pandolce, whose process was handed down orally from generation to generation, has led the pandolce trade to become a symbol not only of the local historical recipes but also of a Ligurian excellence in the world thorugh its exportation.
We can only be happy with the success of the event which brings attention to one of the most appreciated products of Ligurian food tradition. We hope that the Pandolce Championship can follow in the footsteps of the Pesto Championship and become a periodic event, perhaps alternating it with the Pesto Championship itself. The promotion of our region is and will be increasingly linked to food and wine tourism in the years to come.
Pandolce
