Pesto

Pesto is not cooked. Remember that, and you will understand most of what makes it what it is. Basil, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, oil — pounded, not heated. Smell a spoonful and you know it right away: green, sharp, alive. That smell is the whole point of the sauce.

Choose it by smell first. Real pesto smells green and sharp, basil pushing through the garlic, not the other way round. Look at the color too — it should be a living green, not khaki, not brown at the edges. Brown often means it's old, or was bruised or warmed along the way.

Here is the misconception: some people say pesto is a cooked sauce, so they warm it up before tossing it with pasta. No! Put pesto over heat and watch it with your own eyes — the bright green dulls, turns darker, almost tired-looking, and the smell that made you reach for the jar goes flat. Toss your hot pasta with cold pesto off the heat, in the bowl, with your own hands if you must. Never let the pan do the mixing.