What a bright and light fresh summer basil Pasta! Weeknight perfection of a dish. Takes minutes to make but delivers big flavours!
You can make your own pesto (like the one I have here) or simply buy some at your local farmer’s market. Store-bough could also work but it probably won’t taste as fresh.
The biggest rule with this dish is not heating the basil pesto! You don’t want to wilt it, blacken the basil – it will result in an unpleasant taste as well as colour. That’s why I add the pesto at the very end.
Delicious, quick and easy. What a perfect summer dish. Let’s get cooking!
Boil pasta to al dente according to the package instructions.
Add butter and Parmesan to another heat resistant pot/bowl.
Scoop out 1 cup of pasta water when the pasta is ready and reserve. Drain the rest of the pasta and add to the bowl with Parmesan. Add 1/4 cup reserved pasta water. Stir gently until the pasta is well coated, glistening and butter and cheese have melted. Add more pasta water if needed to reach desired creamy consistency to get pasta silky and saucy.
Add pesto to the pasta and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide between 2-3 (ideally warmed) plates. Garnish with any optional garnishes of choice and serve immediately.
This is such a beautiful summery dish. Fresh vegetable medley would go great with it. What you see in the pictures here is fresh yellow tomato, grape tomatoes, purple peppers, basil and lightly sautéed summer squash and green peas. To sauté - heat a little bit of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until the skillet is hot, then cook your diced vegetables for 2-4 minutes per side until golden, slightly softened but still retain plenty of crunch. Top your pasta with this mixed vegetable medley, if desired. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
Boil pasta to al dente according to the package instructions.
Add butter and Parmesan to another heat resistant pot/bowl.
Scoop out 1 cup of pasta water when the pasta is ready and reserve. Drain the rest of the pasta and add to the bowl with Parmesan. Add 1/4 cup reserved pasta water. Stir gently until the pasta is well coated, glistening and butter and cheese have melted. Add more pasta water if needed to reach desired creamy consistency to get pasta silky and saucy.
Add pesto to the pasta and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide between 2-3 (ideally warmed) plates. Garnish with any optional garnishes of choice and serve immediately.
This is such a beautiful summery dish. Fresh vegetable medley would go great with it. What you see in the pictures here is fresh yellow tomato, grape tomatoes, purple peppers, basil and lightly sautéed summer squash and green peas. To sauté - heat a little bit of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until the skillet is hot, then cook your diced vegetables for 2-4 minutes per side until golden, slightly softened but still retain plenty of crunch. Top your pasta with this mixed vegetable medley, if desired. Enjoy!
And here’s the recipe for the pesto. You will not need all of it, but leftovers will store beautifully in the fridge.
Place nuts of choice and garlic in the bowl of your food processor (this could be made in a blender but food processor works better.) Process until coarsely chopped. Add arugula, basil and process; with the motor running, slowly pour in olive oil and process until everything is well blended. Add Parmesan and process until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
You can use right away or cover with a thin layer of olive oil (seals the pesto and prevents it from turning brown and oxidizing,) cover with a lid and store refrigerated for about a week.
Extra virgin olive oil is what I often use to make this pesto. However, light tasting olive oil will produce better results taste-wise.
You may need to add a bit more oil to help process the pesto and get the right texture.
Ingredients
Directions
Place nuts of choice and garlic in the bowl of your food processor (this could be made in a blender but food processor works better.) Process until coarsely chopped. Add arugula, basil and process; with the motor running, slowly pour in olive oil and process until everything is well blended. Add Parmesan and process until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
You can use right away or cover with a thin layer of olive oil (seals the pesto and prevents it from turning brown and oxidizing,) cover with a lid and store refrigerated for about a week.
Extra virgin olive oil is what I often use to make this pesto. However, light tasting olive oil will produce better results taste-wise.
You may need to add a bit more oil to help process the pesto and get the right texture.
Happens to be Vegetarian.
