Ca' Messighi | Pesto from Liguria
Ca' Messighi – this name stands for the best pesto from Liguria. In northern Italy, where the climate allows mild olive varieties and aromatic basil to grow, pesto is the "sauce of choice" for the typical pasta dishes of Liguria. Pesto always consists of herbs or vegetables, nuts such as pine nuts or walnuts, grated cheese such as Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano or Pecorino, and the best oil, which can be olive oil, nut oil, or sunflower oil. Classic Pesto Genovese, however, consists of basil DOP with a protected designation of origin, Parmigiano Reggiano, pine nuts, and the best olive oil, and in the traditional version, of course, with garlic.
Ca' Messighi | Passion for Pesto
The Ardinssones family dedicated themselves to this particular type of sauce, pesto, 30 years ago and have perfected it over the years. Actually, the family, who have lived in Diano San Pietro, a small village in the hinterland of Imperia in Liguria, for generations, were olive farmers and produced Ligurian olive oil, but the passion for pesto led Mario Ardinssones to become a basil farmer. That was almost 30 years ago – and it has been a good decision to this day, as the demand for pesto increased. Today, Ca’Messighi is run by Romeo Ardissone and his wife Guja.
To obtain tender and highly aromatic basil, cultivation takes place exclusively in summer. In the early morning, the fresh basil is harvested from their own fields, washed, and cut. Then it is finely chopped again, mixed with olive oil, seasoned with a little salt, and then thoroughly chilled before this base is used to create the different pestos from Ca’ Messighi. The Pesto Traditionale from Genoese basil is made exclusively with the more expensive pine nuts, once with and once without garlic. The Pesto Ricetta Ligure, according to a Ligurian recipe, also comes in two varieties, but here a portion of the pine nuts is replaced by cashews, which accounts for the price difference. In addition to basil pesto, the Ca’ Messighi family business also produces a Pesto Rosso with dried tomatoes, Crema di Bosco with mushrooms, and Crema di Noci, an aromatic nut pesto.
