noun
pesto
PES-toh/ˈpestəʊ/
An Italian sauce typically made with basil, garlic, nuts, cheese, and oil.
The coarse green pesto sits beside basil, garlic, pine nuts, and oil.
Etymology
The verb meaning “to pound or crush” supplied a participial name meaning “pounded.” The sauce is named for the crushing of its herbs and garlic, not for any single ingredient.
In context
they make a pesto with what they have. The Genovese style pesto is with beautiful basil, right? It could be mint, it could be parsley,
More examples
- A spoonful of pesto adds flavor to vegetable soup.
- We spread pesto on bread before adding sliced tomatoes.
- This homemade pesto uses walnuts instead of pine nuts.
Forms
pesto · pestos
Similar words
- sauce
- A general term that does not specify ingredients.