Pesto with roasted potatoes and sirloin steak. Vegan variations of pesto can include mixes of fresh basil, nuts such as walnut or pine nut, olive oil, and the addition of miso paste and nutritional yeast to provide additional flavor enhancement to the dish. For reasons of expense or availability, walnuts, pecans, cashews or even peanuts are sometimes substituted for the traditional pine nuts. Also, while the nuts are traditionally used as is, some recipes call for prior toasting. While not preferable, other culinary nuts may be used due to the taste disturbances that some people may experience after consuming pine nuts
Pesto the regions of Liguria, Italy, and Provence, France. It was abundant in this part of Italy, though only when in season, which is why marjoram and parsley are suggested as alternatives when basil is lacking. Ratto mentions Dutch cheese (""formaggio olandese"") instead of pecorino sardo since Northern European cheeses were actually common in Genoa at the time, thanks to the centuries-long commercial trades of the maritime republic. This recipe for "pesto alla genovese" was often revised in the following years (a noted revision by Emanuele Rossi occurred in 1865, only a couple of years after Ratto's "Cuciniera"), and it shortly