Recipe
Pasta with pesto
The simplest thing you can do with a jar of pesto, and the one where a mistake is easiest. Fresh pesto does not survive boiling water, so the whole trick is to combine it with the pasta after the pan comes off the heat.
Main course
Pasta with fresh basil pesto
Pasta tossed with fresh basil pesto and a little cooking water, with the sauce never heated.
- Time
- 17 min
- Servings
- 2 servings
Ingredients
- 200 g pasta, spaghetti or penne
- 4 tablespoons of basil pesto, about 60 g
- 2 tablespoons of pasta cooking water
- a handful of grated hard cheese
- freshly ground pepper
- optionally a handful of cherry tomatoes
Method
- 01
Cook the pasta
Drop the pasta into salted boiling water and cook it al dente, usually a minute less than the packet says.
- 02
Keep some water
Before draining, save two tablespoons of the cooking water. Its starch will bind the sauce.
- 03
Take it off the heat
Drain the pasta and let the pan stand off the burner for a minute. Fresh pesto dropped into boiling water loses its colour and aroma.
- 04
Toss
Add the pesto and the cooking water and toss briskly until the pasta is coated.
- 05
Season
Season with pepper, add the cheese and the tomatoes. Serve straight away.
Why the pesto goes in last
Fresh pesto is not pasteurised, so heat changes it immediately: the green turns olive brown and the basil aroma escapes. Taking the pan off the heat and waiting a moment keeps the thing you paid for.
How much pesto per serving
One serving of pasta usually takes two tablespoons, around 30 g. A 180 g jar covers three to four servings, and more if the pesto is an accent rather than the base.
Variations
Parsley pesto works with pasta and roast potatoes, rocket pesto with beef and hard cheese, sun-dried tomato pesto with cream and grains. Same technique, different jar.
Questions and answers
Questions before you start
- How much pesto per serving of pasta?
- About two tablespoons, roughly 30 g per serving. Start with less and add more on the plate, since fresh pesto is concentrated.
- Should pesto be heated?
- No. Fresh pesto meets the hot pasta after the pan is off the heat. Heated, it loses colour and aroma.
- Why keep the pasta water?
- The starch in it binds the sauce so the pesto coats the pasta instead of sliding to the bottom of the plate. Two tablespoons is enough.
- Which pasta suits pesto?
- Classically spaghetti or trofie, but penne and fusilli work very well too, as the sauce catches in the ridges.