Make Basil Pesto Pasta Like An Italian Grandma

Fresh herbs make any meal instantly more flavorful and beautiful. Basil pesto is one of my absolute favourite. A great pesto tastes fresh, herbal, nutty, garlicky and luxurious, all at once. Today, I’m sharing my favorite pesto recipe and my best pesto tips.

PS: I swapped the pine nuts for almonds as they are easily available and much more affordable; you can also use walnuts and pistachios.

Now that we’ve made pesto what do we do with it? The obvious choice is tossing pesto with pasta, but you can also use it as a base sauce for your pizza, spoon it over a salad, make a mac and cheese, or grilled cheese with a twist. It’s even great on scrambled eggs!

INGREDIENTS

BASIL PESTO:

Makes: 1 cup pesto

Cook time: 10 mins

* ½ cup toasted almonds

* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

* 6-7 small garlic clove, dry roasted

* 2 teaspoon sea salt

* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

* 2 cups basil leaves

* ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for a smoother pesto

* ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional

BASIL PESTO PASTA

Makes: 2-3 servings

Cook Time: 20 mins including time take to cook the pasta

* 2 cups Farfalle, cooked (you can use any pasta)

* ½ cup reserves pasta water, plus more depending on the consistency

* 2 tablespoons olive oil

* 1 medium onion, chopped

* 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped

* 1 cup pesto

* ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional

METHOD:

* In a food processor, combine some oil and garlic and pulse until smooth

* Then add fresh basil, almonds, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and pulse again.

* Add some more olive oil and pulse until combined.

* Add the Parmesan cheese, and pulse to briefly combine.

* For a smoother pesto, add more olive oil.

* Pulse one last time and keep aside.

* Cook pasta as per instructions on the pack.

* Reserve 1 cup of pasta water while draining

* In pan, heat olive oil and sauté onion and garlic for 2-4 minutes on medium heat.

* Add one cup pesto along with some of the pasta water.

* Let it simmer for a few minutes before you season it with salt and pepper.

* Check the consistency of the sauce, if you want it more runny add some more pasta water and season accordingly.

* Add the cooked pasta and mix well.

* Serve hot with grated Parmesan.