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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.