GREEN PESTO PASTA
Serves 4, Ready in 10 Minutes
Green Pesto Pasta with Parmesan Cheese
Pesto pasta throws me right back to my days in uni or when I first moved to London and needed something quick, cheap and delicious that was easy to have for dinner and keep for lunch the next day.
Now that I’ve got a bit more time and space to cook, I’ve loved experimenting with different pesto recipes to make my own rather than going store bought and trust me, once you try it, there’s no going back! No matter how pressed for time you are. Now, while I could easily big up my pestle and mortar for the work it puts in to creating my pesto recipes, I’m a practical girl at heart who knows that most people might not have time (or patience) for that so this recipe calls for a blender or food processor.
You’ll notice that this recipe isn’t done by weight but by handfuls and working by eye rather than by weight. I like making pesto this way so that you can get it to the consistency that you want but also so that you can experiment with adding in different ingredients and make it your own!
I’m using rigatoni, one of my favourite pasta shapes, for this recipe but you can use whichever shape you love most.
Don’t worry if you end up with any pesto leftover too. This will keep well in the fridge for a few days and you can use it to make salad dressings; Or why not spread some on chicken before wrapping it in parma ham and roasting it in the oven with vine tomatoes and Mediterranean vegetables- another mid-week dinner winner in our house!
INGREDIENTS
500g Rigatoni pasta, or another shape of your choice
Bunch of basil leaves, around 30g
2-3 Handfuls of fresh, washed spinach leaves
1 Small garlic clove
1 Handful of chopped nuts (you can use pine nuts but as these tend to be quite expensive, I normally swap mine out for almonds, walnuts or a different nut instead)
1 Handful of finely grated parmesan cheese (get creative with the cheese if you like, I find Grana Padano or pecorino cheese also works well in this)
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
Rigatoni pasta with green pesto and parmesan cheese
METHOD
Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the pack.
While the pasta is cooking, add your basil, spinach and garlic clove to the blender and drizzle with a generous helping of oil.
Carefully blitz them together in the blender, adding more oil if needed to get the right consistency.
Add the salt, pepper, nuts and blitz again to combine.
Remove the pesto from the blender and stir the cheese in until evenly combined.
When the pasta is ready, drain and stir through your desired amount of pesto.
Top with another grating of cheese before serving.
Enjoy!