First crafted in Genoa, Italy, pesto has humble beginnings.
Taking its inagural form as a simple mash of garlic and salt Genovese sailors would use to mask the flavor of spoiled food. The word “pesto” itself means “to pound” and the sauce gets its name from the process of mashing its fragrant basil, punchy cheese and buttery pine nuts with a mortar and pestle until it forms a delicately-flecked mixture.