How Authentic Pesto is Made in Genoa, Italy

Food Insider correspondent Claudia Romeo traveled to Genoa, Italy to learn how authentic pesto is made in the location where it first originated.

Here is where pesto was invented. And ask any Genoese you know, and they will tell you that pesto made outside of the city just can’t compete with the one that is made here. Why? Because all the seven ingredients here are just a little bit more special.

Romeo visited with Roberto Panizza, the owner of Pesto Rossi, where he prepared a gorgeously fragrant and savory batch in both a modern and traditional manner using just the seven ingredients from the original recipe. The traditional batch was made using a pestle and mortar set that was over 300 years old.

We traveled to Genoa, Italy, where pesto was invented, to meet Roberto Panizza, owner of Pesto Rossi and the restaurant Il Genovese, and find out what makes each of the seven ingredients so distinctly Genovese.