Pasta with pesto sauce
To prepare a delicious serving of pasta with basil sauce, we start by ensuring that the pasta is properly cooked. Boil according to the instructions on the package, in well-salted water, until al dente. Once the pasta reaches the desired consistency, we drain it using a colander, but it is important not to rinse it under hot water to avoid losing flavor. A quick rinse with cold water will help prevent sticking.
While the pasta cools slightly, we focus on the basil sauce. We take a food processor and add a few garlic cloves, which will give an intense and aromatic flavor to our dish. We chop the fresh basil into smaller pieces and add it to the garlic. We pulse the processor a few times until the ingredients start to combine, but not so much that we get a fine paste; we want some texture from the ingredients to remain visible.
The next step is to add the other ingredients. Depending on preferences, I chose to add cooking cream, which will bring extra creaminess to the sauce. This will balance the olive oil, providing a more pleasant texture and richer flavor. We continue to pulse the processor until all the ingredients are well mixed and we obtain a homogeneous composition, but we should not overdo it to maintain a certain consistency.
Once the sauce is ready, we pour it over the drained pasta and gently mix, ensuring that each strand is well coated with that aromatic basil sauce. It is important to taste the dish and adjust the salt, considering that the parmesan we will add later can be quite salty.
For a perfect finish, we grate fresh parmesan over the pasta, so it melts slightly upon contact with their heat. We garnish the plate with a few fresh basil leaves for an elegant touch and serve immediately. By keeping the ingredients fresh and the technique simple, this pasta recipe with basil sauce will surely become a favorite in your kitchen. Enjoy your meal!
Ingredients: a package of pasta (I only used 2/3 of a package of Barilla fettuccine) 3 cups of fresh basil 1 clove of garlic 100-150 g grated parmesan 100 g walnut (the original recipe says 'pine nuts' - sorry but I don't know how to say it in Romanian, but I realized I didn't have any and had to substitute) a small cup of olive oil ground pepper 2-3 tablespoons of liquid cream - optional
