Crossword Genius

Fast, not eating rare sauce (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pesto

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'sauce' is the definition.
(I know that pesto is a sauce)

'fast not eating rare' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'not' could be 'o' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'o' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'pest' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pesto that I've seen before include "Green sauce" , "Basil and pine nut sauce" , "Saucy work" , "Pasta sauce variety" , "Sauce of basil, pine nuts, etc" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Mail.
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