4 stars (out of 5 - a great garlicky pesto sauce)
My mom was visiting and we decided to make her some home-made pasta, while she found this recipe for home-made pesto with tomatoes. I really really enjoyed it, although I have to warn you that it is garlicky! I decided to make it again for LX when she visited, and to see if I could replicate mom's cooking.
Ingredients:
500g fettuccine (or fresh pasta!*)
3 cloves of garlic (the original recipe called for 8!! Yikes)
1/2 cup loosely packed, coarsely chopped fresh basil
120g baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped**
2/3 cup (160 mL) olive oil
1/2 cup (40g) finely grated Parmesan cheese
3 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 jalapeno, thinly sliced***
1/3 cup (50g) pine nuts, toasted
{*Note. We used fresh pasta, as seen here: http://etryingtocook.blogspot.com/2009/12/fresh-home-made-pasta-fettucine.html. It was the perfect amount for three people, although it could do for four if you serve an appy).}
{**Note. The recipe suggested that we use baby spinach for a milder flavoured pesto. If you prefer, the original recipe called for 120g rocket. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure it's good.}
{***Note. The original recipe called for 2 red thai chillies, sliced thinly. I couldn't find these at the grocery store, so I just bought 1 jalapeno. In addition, since SB has a low tolerance for spices, I only added about 1/2 of the pepper.}
1. I first prepared the pesto, and just set it aside until we decided to cook to the pasta. This is one great thing about this recipe- there is no stress with the timing. To make the pesto, I first measured and chopped up my basil, garlic (only use 3!!), and spinach (I left it whole because I'm lazy).
{**Note. The recipe suggested that we use baby spinach for a milder flavoured pesto. If you prefer, the original recipe called for 120g rocket. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure it's good.}
{***Note. The original recipe called for 2 red thai chillies, sliced thinly. I couldn't find these at the grocery store, so I just bought 1 jalapeno. In addition, since SB has a low tolerance for spices, I only added about 1/2 of the pepper.}
1. I first prepared the pesto, and just set it aside until we decided to cook to the pasta. This is one great thing about this recipe- there is no stress with the timing. To make the pesto, I first measured and chopped up my basil, garlic (only use 3!!), and spinach (I left it whole because I'm lazy).
2. I then crammed all these ingredients into my food processor. I had to process these ingredients in batches, adding more and more spinach because my processor is so small. I added the oil in batches as well, blending until smooth (look at how green it is!). {As I am uploading my pics, I am in the process of cooking and tasting this mixture - and I am worried. It's kinda bitter and just, well, garlicky. Fingers crossed!}
3. I then prepared the Parmesan cheese, tomato, lemon juice, and jalapeno, and toasted the pine nuts. Now I'm just waiting for the pasta. (BTW, is it me, or do pine nuts stink when you cook them? eww).
4. When everything was ready, we made the pasta, drained it, and threw in all the ingredients into the sauce pan. I didn't end up using all of the pesto mixture... just taste as you go.
5. The final product:
Overall, this was very simple to make and pretty delicious (fears unfounded). I only wish I had a bigger food processor. I would also recommend adding a bit of salt, and trying it with rocket, which I might do in the future. I think I enjoyed this because it is so different from our usual pasta sauces (and because of the garlic!). I also found that the tomato was a nice addition to add a bit of "freshness" to the dish. One note, if you make the main part of the pesto and then taste it, don't freak out like I did. The addition of the lemon and the Parmesan cheese really brings the flavours together and into a nice sauce.
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