The name 'pesto' is the past participle of the Italian verb 'pestare'. This means 'to crush' or 'to pound', which refers to the preparation method for the sauce. Officially, the word is generic for anything that's produced by pounding. In Italy, it relates to several types of pesto, but the Genovese version is the most popular, which is the traditional green paste commonly used in cooking.

Including basil as the main ingredient in the sauce is only a fairly recent occurrence. Although the sauce is thought to date back to Roman times, the inclusion of basil was first documented during the middle of the 19th century when Giovanni Battista Ratto, a gastronomist, published "La Cuciniera Genovese", a book about Italian cooking.

This sauce goes well with many foods, some of which may surprise you. For example, stir a teaspoon into a bowl of tomato soup for added colour and richness. Other foods that pesto will complement and enhance include:

• Chicken – cut in half and spread in the middle before baking
• Fish – combine with butter as a sauce when grilling white fish
• Pasta – stir through your favourite pasta dishes
• Bread – spread as a sandwich topping with tomato
• Pizza – drizzle over the top with mozzarella
• Lamb – cover the outside in pesto and bake for a delicious crust