Our monthly column is enriched with a new recipe from chef Gian Luca Cellerino of Ristocaffè Il Ponte di Toirano: Quinoa turret with Pesto Fresco Genovese advantaged with Parmigiano Reggiano wafer.
Here’s a new take on using Pesto Fresco in a delicious, 100% vegetarian dish .

Chef Gian Luca Cellerino of Ristocaffè Il Ponte di Toirano ‘s recipe this month is delicious, very modern and uses very healthy products: the Pesto Fresco Genovese advantaged quinoa turret with Parmigiano Reggiano wafer.
the chef combines Fresh Pesto produced in our Frasca e Nassa Artisan Laboratory in Loano with quinoa, a food with numerous nutritional properties.
Quinoa is in fact very rich in protein, carbohydrates and dietary fiber and is absolutely gluten-free, as is our Pesto Fresco Genovese.
The high protein content of quinoa makes it a viable alternative to protein foods of animal origin, so it is ideal for those who wish to decrease or eliminate their consumption of meat or fish.
Let’s move on to the procedure to prepare our Quinoa Torretta al Pesto Fresco Genovese advantaged with Parmesan wafer.

Pesto Fresco Genovese advantaged quinoa turret with Parmesan wafer: here are the ingredients for 4 people

• Pesto Fresco Genovese: 2 jars of 170g
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 handful of fresh green beans
• 4 coffee cups of quinoa
• EVO oil
• Pine nuts to taste
• 8 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese for the waffles

Pesto Fresco Genovese advantaged quinoa turret with Parmesan cheese wafer: procedure

• Boil the potatoes. If you want to get ahead of the game in preparing this dish, the chef recommends cooking the potatoes with the skins on in very salty water and draining them without rinsing them, so the salt settles on the skins and the potatoes absorb only the necessary saltiness. This way they keep for a long time even outside the refrigerator, so you can prepare them even the day before
• Boil green beans in lightly salted water. The chef recommends cooling them under cold water to lock in the cooking process and maintain their turgidity
• Prepare the waffles by spreading 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese per waffle evenly on a sheet of baking paper. Microwave for 1 minute on full power and take out. For the 10 seconds after they come out of the oven, the waffle is moldable, should you want to give them a round or heart shape or however you like. Prepare them all and set aside
• Cook the quinoa cold. As a rule, for 1 part quinoa, add 2 parts lightly salted water, so in our case, 4 cups quinoa and 8 cups water
• Bring to a boil and lower the heat to low. At this point, cook 10 minutes with the lid on the pot
• Turn off the heat and leave the pot covered for 5 more minutes
• Mash the quinoa with a fork, adding EVO oil or seed oil to separate it, depending on taste. With EVO oil you will have the characteristic strong olive flavor, with seed oil you will have a more delicate quinoa, devoid of added flavor
• Put the Pesto Fresco Genovese contained 1 1/2 jars in a boule
• Peel and dice the potatoes into small cubes.
• Cut green beans into small pieces, keeping some whole for garnishing
• Heat potatoes and green beans in a microwave oven for one minute on full power
• Heat the quinoa in the same way.
• Pour potatoes, green beans and quinoa into the boule with Pesto Fresco Genovese and stir to season
• On the serving plate, compose the quinoa turret by helping yourself with a pasta cup
• Garnish with shower of pine nuts, boiled whole green beans, the Parmigiano Reggiano wafer and a drizzle of EVO oil

The dish is ready to bring to the table and eat hot. Enjoy your meal!

You can buy our Pesto Fresco Genovese, with or without garlic, directly at the Frasca e Nassa Artisan Laboratory in Loano, at the h24 distributorand on our website by clicking here to have it in no time directly to your home.