low maintenance pesto + a killer vego pasta recipe (2024)
I have two treats for you this week. So gather ’round.
The first is a new way of making pesto – a minimalist kitchen friendly recipe that requires neither food processor nor mortar & pestle. Just a chopping board and a sharp knife.
Perfect for when you find yourself cooking an ‘away game’ in a not-so-well-equipped kitchen. Or if your kitchen looks quite sparse like my share house in Surry Hills when I left uni.
I have a distinct memory of making my first ever pesto in a blender. I couldn’t get the leaves to chop as the blade at the bottom of the blender just whizzed around underneath the leaves with no liquid to pull them down. So I added the oil to mix in the leaves and ended up with a lurid chlorophyll soup. Not exactly the rustic paste I was after. But with my new bruise and chop method – you won’t have to worry about repeating my mistake.
The second is my new favourite vego pasta – zucchini [courgette] ‘noodles’. I discovered it in the lovely book of fellow food blogger, Molly of Orangette fame. It’s everything a good pasta dish should be. Simple. Delicious. Healthy.
I love the idea of cutting the zucchini into long ‘noodle’ shaped ribbons to mingle with the long strands of pasta. It lightens things up so you can still get a good carb hit with enough vegetable credentials to make you feel like you’re eating well.
Inspired by Molly from Orangette in her fabulous book A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table. Scroll down for links to Amazon and Fishpond.com.au.
I’ve always been a fan of zucchini and basil together and this recipe is a brilliant example of what a lovely married couple they make.
If you’re not in the mood to make your own pesto by all mean use a bought one. Just don’t miss out.
I’ve recently gotten into using a timer to cook my pasta. Takes the guess work out and means you don’t need to stress and spend lots of time testing. Just set to the time on the packet and forget.
4 medium zucchini 2T olive oil 300g (3/4lb) long pasta such as spaghetti or bucatini 1/2C pesto parmesan cheese, to serve
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Slice zucchini lengthwise into ribbons as thin as you can. Heat oil in a frying pan and cook zucchini stirring occasionally until soft and buttery. About 8 minutes.
Meanwhile get your pasta cooking for as long as the wise people in the pasta making company recommend. Scoop out a cupful of cooking water then drain pasta. Add pasta to the zucchini pan along with the pesto. Stir until the pasta is well coated, adding a little reserved cooking water if it looks too dry. Taste & season.
Serve hot with extra cheese passed separately.
minimalist pesto makes about 1/2 cup
This makes more than you’ll need for the pasta but trust me, you won’t have any problems using it up. Brilliant on sandwiches or dolluped in soups. Very good mates with anything tomatoey. Also lovely with avocado on toast.
If you do have a food processor or a mortar and pestle by all means use them.
1 large bunch basil, leaves picked 1 clove garlic, peeled & finely chopped 1 handful pinenuts 2 large handfuls grated parmesan extra virgin olive oil
Wash and dry your basil then place in a clean plastic bag. Pound with your fist or a meat mallet until the leaves are bruised – this help release the basil aroma and makes it easer to chop in the next step.
Place bruised basil, garlic and pinenuts on a large chopping board. Chop and keep on chopping until everything is finely chopped and starting to look like gremolata. Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir through enough olive oil to make a rough paste. Stir through cheese. Taste & season with plenty of salt and black pepper.
Enjoy immediately or drizzle with some more oil and keep in the fridge for up to a week.
If you haven’t read Molly’s blog, I highly recommend that you check it out. She is easily top of my list of favourite food bloggers. Unfortunately she’s been neglecting it a bit lately on account of opening a restaurant in Seattle with her husband.
So I’ve been making the most of her book ‘A Homemade Life’ – a delightful read with personal stories scatted with her trademark simple recipes.
Add a pinch of salt if the basil tastes too bitter or the pesto needs more zing.Add more Parmesan if you'd like a creamier/cheesier pesto. If desired, you can thin out the pesto with more olive oil.
Add tomatoes and shrimp to your pasta pesto for an easy and elegant midweek dinner. Simply soften and season cherry tomatoes in a pan, then flash-fry raw shrimp until pink, stir into al dente pasta along with homemade pesto and a little pasta cooking water to loosen the mix, plate and enjoy.
This fresh and fragrant pasta sauce is served uncooked, so choose a pasta shape that won't overwhelm it. Similar to oil-based sauces, pesto is served best with longer cuts of pasta, like the corkscrew shape of Fusilli. Pesto works best with Bucatini, Capellini, thinner Spaghettini, and Fettuccine.
Grilled chicken: Top your spaghetti with pesto sauce and sliced grilled chicken for a protein-packed meal.
Roasted vegetables: Toss some roasted vegetables like cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and bell peppers with your pesto and spaghetti for a delicious and healthy meal.
Shrimp: Pesto and shrimp are a classic combination.
Yes, pesto can be used straight from the jar and doesn't require cooking or heating. In fact, we actively discourage applying too much heat to pesto, as this will destroy many of the fresh flavours that producers work so hard to retain.
PESTO SHOULD NEVER BE “COOKED”. If you cook Pesto Sauce, you change the make up of the fresh basil and cause it to turn darker in color. It is best to warm it up and use it at room temperature. If it needs to be thinned out, you can do so by adding a little water, chicken stock, cream or white wine.
It is better to mix your pesto to fresh boiled pasta, not for taste-reasons but for a rather practical issue: unseasoned pasta gets sticky when it cools down and you won't be able to mix it properly.
If you please to have your pasta with pesto cold, season it warm and let it then cool down.
The most common reason for pesto tasting bitter is that the olive oil is past its best and has started to turn rancid. If the pesto has been made in a food processor or blender, there's also the possibility that it has turned bitter from the crude, sheering action of the blades.
As a very rough guide, your pesto should weigh about 2/3 the weight of the dried pasta you are cooking. So, for a standard, single serving of 75g of dried pasta, we think that 50g of pesto is about right.
Most pesto recipes call for Parmesan cheese; we often use Romano which has a stronger flavor. Basil pesto recipes often call for pine nuts, but you can easily substitute walnuts.
Pesto is the perfect sauce to enjoy with a dish of trofie (the traditional Ligurian short pasta), lasagna, potato gnocchi or as a topping for a bowl of minestrone. It can be mixed into tomato sauce to enhance the flavor of pasta dishes or used with fish fillets to make them more appetizing.
Pesto goes amazingly well with grilled steak, pork chops, chicken, and even fish, so you don't have to worry about spicing or marinating your meat. You can also season meatloaf or meatballs with pesto.
But I do have my preferences. My favourite is penne or ziti (which is just penne with a smooth surface). I find it's the easiest to toss for even distribution and you get the “juiciest” pesto pasta. Spaghetti and other thin(-ish) long strand pastas are my next favourite.
Some good vegetables to put in pasta with pesto sauce include cherry tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, and spinach. These vegetables not only add flavor and texture to the dish, but they also provide essential nutrients and vitamins.
What does pesto taste like? Traditional pesto is a thick, green sauce that tastes bright and herby from the basil, and salty and rich from the cheeses and pine nuts. It should be garlicky, with pleasant grassiness from good quality olive oil.
You do not need to cook pesto, as its flavours are best enjoyed raw. Instead, allow the residual heat from your freshly cooked pasta to gently warm it as you stir it in. Why is my pesto bland? It's likely because you need to add more basil or salt.
Adding a little sugar is the most obvious way to dampen down any bitterness from pesto. Anything sugary will work: granulated white sugar, honey, fruit juices, even sweet dessert wines.
Adding a small amount of acidity (lemon juice or vinegar) and balancing that with a little sweetness (sugar or honey) is the best way to take the edge off a pesto that tastes overwhelmingly of garlic.
Introduction: My name is Mr. See Jast, I am a open, jolly, gorgeous, courageous, inexpensive, friendly, homely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
