A Little Left of Center II

Cinque Terre

 

 

 

Cinque Terre is a cluster of 5 beautiful sea front towns on the Italian Coast.  Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.  We arrived there by train from Florence on a sunny but windy and cool day.  Mom was too tired to go.  She felt that walking the hilly areas we were going to see would be too difficult so she stayed in Florence while Carol, Cari and I went.

 

We first went to Monterosso which was the furthest north.  It's a very small community nestled in the hills above the ocean.  We walked, shopped, and enjoyed the scenery for an hour or so before getting back on the train and going to Vernazza.  In Vernazza, we had lunch at a delightful little restaurant a block east of the ocean.  We all ordered pizza and enjoyed every bite.  Cari got margarita pizza which is just tomatoe sauce and cheese.  I got sausage, mushroom and cheese and Carol ordered a pesto pizza.  Her pizza had thinly sliced tomatoes under pesto sauce with cheese bubbling on top.  When she took her first bite, her eyes rolled back in her head, "Oh, this is so good!"  Cari and I shared a slice and had to agree that it was one of most delicious things we had eaten since arriving in Italy. 

 

After leaving the restaurant, we walked to a small shop a block away and purchased mass quantities of the pesto sauce and had it shipped home.  I bought 3 jars of about 10 ounces each.  Carol bought a liter which is about a quart.  I cannot wait for that to get here so I can fix pasta with pesto for my friends and family.  While we were shopping, I also found a post card with the recipe for pesto onit.  I bought it so I can make my own pesto here.

 

I just need to translate grams into ounces to make it.

 

Pesto:

 

100 gr basil leaves

30 gr pine nuts

2 cloves of garlic

2 tsp. rock salt

40 gr parmesan cheese

2 dl olive oil

 

In a food processor or blender, mix basil, garlic, pine nuts and salt with 2 or 3 tbs. of water until well blended.  Put in a ceramic dish and slowly stir in parmasan and olive oil.  Add salt to taste.

 

Enjoy!

 

P.S.  If anyone knows how to convert grams to ounces, let me know!