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Pasta with Pesto Sauce

March 11, 2015 by Marilena Leavitt 2 Comments

Pasta with Pesto sauce

Pasta with Pesto Sauce or, “Pasta al pesto” is a classic Italian dish from the region of Liguria and is made simply by blending fresh basil, garlic, lightly toasted pine nuts, a good, aged Pecorino cheese and your best olive oil. Fortunately, you don’t have to wait for the summer months, when basil grows in abundance in our gardens to make this luscious pasta sauce. With spring just around the corner, aromatic, fresh basil is starting to make its appearance in our local markets alongside early spring vegetables.  After a long cold winter like the one we had this year here in Virginia, everybody is eager to move on to brighter and fresher flavors.

How to make fresh Pesto Sauce

The traditional way of preparing pesto is by using a mortar and pestle, but, if you have a food processor, all you need to do is to put the ingredients in the processor and pulse it several times until you are happy with the texture and the consistency. It is best to enjoy this dish right away, as pesto will darken and brown quickly, although it will still be tasty for several days.

Bow Tie Pasta with Pesto (Farfalle al Pesto)

Pasta with Pesto Sauce
 
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Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
15 mins
Total time
25 mins
 
A delicious recipe from Northern Italy!
Author: Marilena Leavitt
Recipe type: Pasta Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 3 cups fresh basil, firmly packed to measure
  • ¼ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
  • 2 lrg. garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
  • ½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (plus some shaved for garnish)
  • ½-3/4 tsp. salt
  • --- freshly ground pepper to taste
  • --- pinch red pepper flakes
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb. bowtie-shaped pasta (farfalle)
Instructions
  1. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine the first 3 ingredients. Process to blend and then add the cheese, salt and pepper, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil in a steady stream and blend until smooth.
  2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water, three-fourths full of water to a boil. Salt generously the water and add the bow-tie pasta. Cook stirring frequently until the pasta is “al dente.”
  3. Drain the pasta, reserving about ½ cup of the cooking water. Return pasta to the pot and toss well -- while still hot -- with the pesto. Check the consistency and add some of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce.
  4. Garnish with savings of Pecorino Romano cheese and a few toasted pine nuts and serve immediately in warm bowls.
Notes
1. If you need to store the pesto, put it in the smallest container possible and thoroughly press it down to eliminate air pockets. Pour a little olive oil over the surface, cover, and refrigerate for up to a week. For smaller quantities, you can also use silicone ice cube trays.
2. If you don't have Pecorino, you can use Parmesan cheese
3.5.3240

   Here is another very simple pasta recipe, perfect for weeknight meals, that you are going to love:

Pasta with fresh herb and zucchini 

Pasta with zucchini and fresh herbs

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Filed Under: Italian, Pasta Tagged With: basil, farfalle pasta, Italian Cooking, Italian pasta dishes, mediterranean cooking, Mediterranean cuisine, mediterranean food, olive oil, pasta with pesto sauce, pesto, pine nuts

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Comments

  1. Sara Cleland says

    March 13, 2015 at 12:27 PM

    Well, I am even worse about blogging! I tried several times this morning, to post a comment on your blog; but I¹m not sure that my comment ever made it through. This is my very first experience with posting a comment on ANYONE¹S blog; so I clearly need some work and practice!

    Hugs, Sara

    Reply
    • Marilena Leavitt says

      June 3, 2020 at 6:04 PM

      And you did great, Sara! Thank you very much for taking the time to leave your comment!

      Reply

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