I fell in love with Italian cuisine by watching Giada De Laurentis and Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa in FoodNetwork channel. I sometimes binge-watch their episodes. Italian cuisine is very vibrant has great flavors. The building blocks in Italian cuisine is somewhat similar to Indian too. Pesto sauce is green-colored sauce made with Basil, Pine nuts, Parmesan Cheese and lots of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil). This has a good shelf-life of about a month in the refrigerator. I think Pesto is similar to Cilantro Thogayal in Tamil Cuisine where we use Cilantro/Coriander in place of Basil, Urad dhall in place of pine nuts! I like to substitute half of basil with blanched/steamed spinach and pine nuts with Almonds. The taste is still great as the Basil Pesto. Recipe Ingredients: Chopped Spinach if baby spinach, otherwise blanched. Basil Garlic Parmesan Cheese Toasted Almonds (Whole) EVOO Salt, Red chili flakes and Pepper pwd as needed. Blend all together ...