Pesto Pesto Pesto (; ), sometimes spelled as pasto or to refer to the original dish pesto alla genovese (), is a sauce originating in Genoa, the capital city of Liguria, Italy. It traditionally consists of crushed garlic, European pine nuts, coarse salt, basil leaves, Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan cheese) and pecorino sardo (cheese made from sheep's milk), all blended with olive oil. The name is the past participle of the Genoese verb "pestâ" (Italian: "pestare"), which means "to pound", "to crush", in reference to the original method of preparation: according to tradition, the ingredients are "crushed" or ground in a marble mortar
Juglans flavoured with walnuts, while "Salsa di Noci" (walnut sauce) is a pasta sauce originating from Liguria. In Georgia, walnuts are ground with other ingredients to make walnut sauce. Walnuts are heavily used in India. In Jammu, it is used widely as a "prasad" (offering) to Mother Goddess Vaisnav Devi and, generally, as a dry food in the season of festivals such as Diwali. The nuts are rich in oil, and are widely eaten both fresh and in cookery. Walnut oil is expensive and consequently is used sparingly; most often in salad dressings. Walnut oil has been used in oil paint,