pesto

plural pestos

1. uncountableusuallyA sauce, especially for pasta, originating from the Genoa region in Italy, made from basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and cheese (usually pecorino).

   For variation, easy cooking and good eating, slather some pesto on the fish of your choice and bake.

   1988 November 13, M. H. Reed, “‘Clean Eating’ for the Holidays”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC

   1 more example

   Inside the house, Paul is in the kitchen bent over a bowl of pesto: thick shiny basil leaves, machete-crushed garlic cloves, pine nuts, onions roasted till their gold edges blacken, and the bright scent of lemon zest.

   2019, Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Jonathan Cape, page 221