Villa Realle - luksuzna delikatesa visokog gastronomskog ranga

Article author: Kult Plave Kamenice, July 2022.

Pesto may sound a bit mundane. We can make basil pesto at home in about ten minutes, and those who can't be bothered to do even that can choose from dozens of brands in supermarkets. However, there are types of pesto that cannot be made at home and are only sold in specialized delicatessen stores.

Villa Realle Pesto with shrimps and pistachios
This product of Sicilian Villa Reale is a prime example of such a high gastronomic genre of pesto. First, Villa Reale Pesto with shrimps and pistachios contains 45 percent shrimp meat and 12 percent pistachios. This is not, therefore, an industrial product that reminds of shrimps and pistachios, but the real thing. Secondly, in addition to being abundant in sweet mineral taste of crayfish and the specific taste of pistachios, Pesto di pistachio e gamberi is further rounded off by a fine selection of spices and oils and their precise ratios. This is a first-rate and original gastronomic product, of which there are few in the Croatian market. Pesto made from shrimps and pistachios can be eaten in various varieties of finger food, simply spread on a powerful, darker bread, and yesterday we tasted it almost by itself, in the company of a few small tomatoes, some purple basil leaves and a few drops of top-quality olive oil. Of course, if you want to prepare a luxurious pasta dish, you can mix it with already cooked pasta spiced with oil and fresh pepper; in that case you could further enrich the dish with some lightly sautéed shrimp tails. With pesto of shrimp and pistachios, one should drink a fuller-bodied white wine, but with good acidity, such as mature malvazija or better poship and grk. Villa Reale Supreme is a prestigious artisan brand of Sicilian producer Campo d'Oro. Deliiicije stores sell two lines of Campo d'Oro pesto in various traditional and modern flavors. All are made without additives and when opened, they should be kept in the refrigerator and consumed within two weeks. Testing Deliiicija's pesto inspired us to create this little guide on how to make almost any dish you cook at home sing with the help of pesto.



Campo d'Oro Pistachio Pesto
This pesto contains more than 50 percent pistachios, of which 10.5% are from Sicily, extra virgin olive oil, a little sunflower oil, a little hot peppers and salt. And nothing more. It has a very gentle smell and taste of fresh pistachios so you can use it to enrich a whole range of dishes, even light fish fillets, as it won't take over the aromatics. The salt stands out a little in taste, so keep that in mind if you use larger quantities.



Villa Reale Pistachio Pesto
The same pure composition as the previous one, but with a higher proportion of pistachios, 60 percent. It is good for luxurious dishes, grilled scampi, turbot fillets, or pizzas with a small number of expensive ingredients such as pizza with top Italian mortadella.

Villa Reale Supreme Pesto of Sicilian Pistachios
With more than 50 percent pistachios, of which 30 percent are the best Sicilian ones, this pesto already enters the luxury deli products. It tastes like that too, elegant, creamy, with specific sweetly-green notes of southern pistachios and a perfect balance of ingredients. We could eat it by itself, with a spoon.



Campo d'Oro Pesto Rosso
Classic. Ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, nuts and goat ricotta. You will only buy this pesto once as one jar. The next time you will need more because it works great in dozens of dishes, it's excellent cold, tolerates temperatures well. As in every Campo d'Oro pesto, the fresh flavors of tomato and basil are phenomenally preserved, very lively and rounded and non-aggressive. You can use it for everything from pasta to salads and sandwiches. Pesto Rosso is an authentic kitchen workhorse.



Campo d'Oro Pesto Trapanese
This traditional Sicilian pesto made from tomatoes named after the province of Trapani, is specific because it contains sun-dried tomatoes and plenty of almonds from Avola. This combination creates a bomb of flavors. It also contains garlic, which gives an additional accent to the dishes in which you can use it. Again, all the ingredients are perfectly balanced, none of the flavors stand out, the brilliant taste of dried tomatoes dominates, and hot peppers are present only to keep all the flavors at their height, the pesto is not hot. This is a somewhat sturdier pesto, ideal for meat. In pasta, use it with a lot of freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino.



Campo d'Oro Pesto Peperoni
This mild, lush pesto is made from peppers and two types of cheese, ricotta and pecorino. The taste of peppers covers a completely different scale of combinations than tomatoes. The fresh flavors of summer peppers and the pronounced taste of cheese make this pesto special. It's like a really well-spiced cream cheese, so it's ideal for risotto, but also as a base for sandwiches, dip or addition to the filling for ravioli. Taste a spoonful of pesto and ideas will start coming to you.




13 QUICK WAYS TO IMPROVE ALMOST ANY DISH WITH PESTO
 
1. Of course, pasta / Pesto with shrimps and pistachios, all the others
Pesto is a natural companion to all types of pasta, which are a natural medium for highlighting the wonders of pesto, its concentrated flavors of ripe vegetables, herbs, cheese, nuts, olive oils. But besides pasta, pesto can complete and make dozens of dishes sing. With pasta, you need to pay attention to the combination of pasta type and pesto texture. Creamier pesto, with more cheese or nuts, will go well with spaghetti, while lighter pesto with more tomato, for example, will be better for fusilli. Pesto is literally the fastest way to turn a great dish into a phenomenal dish. In this short guide, we will explore how.


 
2. Steaks, white meat / Pesto Trapanese, Pesto Rosso, Pesto with pistachios
A little pesto on roasted chicken changes everything. A little pistachio or pepper pesto and a little mozzarella will turn the most boring chicken breasts into a gourmet moment. If you are on a diet, in training, or simply careful about what you eat, it is likely that you will have to repeat some dishes more often and that they will sometimes bore you. Pesto Trapanese, Pesto Rosso, and Pesto with Pistachios will become your best friends. Or, for example, add a teaspoon of Pesto Trapanese to a good steak and enjoy the flavors amplified to the max.


 
3. Soups and stews/ Pesto Trapanese, Pesto Rosso
Minestrone and other soups and stews of that genre are extremely layered dishes where we often neglect accents and freshness. A teaspoon of Pesto Trapanese will give them an aromatic kick of basil, sweetness, and acidity of tomato and a little nutsy fat. They will start to sing. Pesto Rosso will be good for stronger stews, with beans or kale, as fresh tomato will give much needed freshness and ricotta will nicely enrich and round up textures and flavors.


 
4. Meat sauces / Pesto Trapanese
You’ve simmered the sauce for hours and at the end you realize that you have run out of fresh herbs? The solution is simple, a more intense tomato pesto with plenty of basil. Sun-dried tomatoes in Pesto Trapanese will ideally match with the deep smell of meat and a little garlic and a lot of basil will give the final touch to the sauce.


 
5. Pizza / Pesto with pistachios
All pizzas with meat ingredients of a more intense taste like mortadella, sausages or prosciutto, love pistachio pesto because it gives sweetness and elegance that contrasts the taste of meat. Vegan and vegetarian pizzas love it even more, because it gives deeper, richer flavors to vegetables.


 
6. Fish / Pesto Trapanese, Pesto with pistachios
A good fresh, properly roasted fish does not need complicated accompaniments nor sauces. Half a teaspoon of good pesto is the ideal measure to get a little explosion of flavors on the plate. For fish choose exclusively high-quality pesto, no jars from supermarkets. The