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Spaghetti with pesto sauce: an Italian classic. Video
Smooth, thin and long pasta like spaghetti works best with a flavorful, vibrant, famous pesto. Despite its apparent simplicity, this is a very diverse dish, since there are a lot of different variations of pesto.
Spaghetti with pesto sauce
How to make spaghetti with almond pesto
According to many fans of Italian culinary traditions, almonds are an acceptable substitute for pine nuts in pesto, so almond pesto can be safely called classic. For 100 g of dry spaghetti, you will need: – 1 clove of garlic; – ¼ cup fried almonds; – 50 g grated pecorino romano or parmigiano reggiano cheese; – 1 cup fresh basil leaves; – ¼ cup olive oil – salt.
Boil 2 liters of water in a saucepan, dip the spaghetti into boiling water, spreading them in a fan over the pan, and wait until the pasta softens and sinks to the bottom. Stir the pasta, reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, according to package directions. Season with salt shortly before cooking. Drain the water by reserving a glass of liquid.
While the pasta is cooking, turn up the pesto. Pulse in a food processor in a bowl of a food processor, chop the almonds and basil leaves, add the garlic and cheese, and begin adding olive oil a little at a time, mixing the sauce at low speed. Season with salt.
Traditionally, the pesto sauce is made by hand by grinding with a pestle and mortar. It is believed that this sauce is more aromatic and juicier.
Put the sauce in a saucepan with hot pasta and pour in some of the hot water you poured from the spaghetti. Shake the pot a few times to wrap the pesto around the spaghetti. If it doesn’t, add some more hot water from the glass and shake the paste again. Serve the pasta and sauce in portions and sprinkle with almond petals and grated cheese.
Spaghetti with parsley and pistachio pesto
The pesto made from parsley and pistachio nuts, although not similar in composition to the classic sauce, turns out to be the same emerald green and aromatic, in the best traditions of Italian cuisine. For 5 servings, or 500 g dry spaghetti, take: – 3 cups fresh parsley leaves; – 1/3 cup fresh mint leaves; – 2/3 cup peeled unsalted pistachios; – 2/3 cup olive oil; – 1/1 cup finely grated parmesan; – XNUMX clove of garlic; – zest of XNUMX lemon; – salt and pepper.
Pesto sauce is not only emerald green, but also scarlet when it is made from sun-dried tomatoes.
Boil the spaghetti in a large saucepan until al dente. Drain off the water by reserving 2 glasses of water. Place the pistachios in a hot skillet and saute for a few minutes. Fry until aromatic, avoiding browning. Place all ingredients except the mint in a food processor and pulse into a smooth paste, season with salt and pepper.
Toss the pesto with the spaghetti and add a little liquid, mixing the sauce with the pasta until the pesto is almost creamy. Cut the mint leaves into ribbons and add to the paste. Serve with chopped pistachios and grated cheese.