One of the few dishes that I crave almost on an everyday basis. I love spaghetti, and I honestly could eat it every day. And one of my favorite sauces flavor wise is a good old Basil Pesto Sauce (especially the recipe with pine nuts). I initially made Basil Pesto Spaghetti only with toasted walnuts as a substitute for pine nuts, since pine nuts are pretty expensive in my neighborhood and aren’t easily available in most stores. But I had to try the recipe with pine nuts, so I went ahead and bought a packet of it. I made my Basil Pesto Spaghetti with Linguine pasta, that is a little thicker and flatter than regular spaghetti, but tastes just as good. Basil Pesto can be pretty filling and heavy, considering the amount of extra-virgin olive oil in it but it’s worth it. And using pine nuts after toasting them, just adds such a wonderful flavor to the sauce. It was definitely better than using toasted walnuts. This recipe for Basil Pesto Spaghetti is super easy, and can be made in barely 20 mins. I like to add cherry tomatoes to my Basil Pesto Spaghetti, and roasted chicken if I’m ever in the mood for a little extra protein. So please do try out this easy recipe and I’m sure you’re going to love it as much as I do.
Ingredients (Serves 2)
Pesto Sauce:
1 cup Fresh Basil Leaves
2 tbsp Pine Nuts (toasted)
2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese (grated; I use the Kraft one)
1/4 cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp Chilli Flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Others:
300g Linguine Pasta (I used Barilla)
1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes (chopped in half)
Parmesan Cheese (grated, to serve)
Water for boiling
Method
- Take a saucepan, add some water and bring it to a boil. While it starts to boil add a little salt to it. Once the water starts boiling, add your pasta/linguine and let it cook for about 5-7 minutes. Check the pasta/linguine at this point to see if it’s cooked & tender. Take a strand of linguine and just check if it breaks easily. Then drain your linguine, add a little olive oil to prevent it from sticking to each other. And keep aside.
- Now onto making your basil pesto sauce. Take a processor and add your basil leaves, toasted pine nuts, garlic, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and parmesan. Process until it’s a nice paste. You’ll have to scrape down the sides occasionally, until almost smooth.
- While the processor is running, add extra-virgin oil in a slow, steady stream. Keep processing so that the oil combines with the paste. Check your salt and pepper, and add more if you would like.
- The last step is to add pesto to your linguine along with the cherry tomatoes and toss well. While serving, add a little grated parmesan cheese and some leftover pesto sauce over the top, and you’re done.
I hope you find this recipe as easy as I do. It’s quick and has the kind of basil pesto flavor you want.