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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes |
Ready In: 20 Minutes Servings: 4 |
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I like basil but like rosemary, a little goes a long way. Having tried 20 recipes for pesto and not liking any of them, I just about gave up. Then I watched Lidia’s Italy on KLRN and here was a brand new twist. Read more . If you haven’t liked Pesto before, try this one. If you like Pesto in its basic form, give this a try anyway. Lidia Bastianich is fun to watch and her take on food is awesome; in fact for 8 years, I spent my birthday in October every year, eating truffles and her made-from-scratch pasta at Felidia in New York long before she became famous. My friend Norman, discovered this restaurant when one of his workmen crashed bricks into her Etched glass skylight and had to build an elaborate covering for her back in the early 80’s. After that, we celebrated my birthdays in that wonderful restaurant on the upper east side of NY City every year. Anyway, I am now in Texas and in Texas, we have pecans. Boy, do we have pecans, some right in my own back yard…so I used Pecans (Lidia’s recipe calls for Walnuts). But she stated that you can use whatever nut you fancy, even pistachio’s. So here is my take on her amazing Walnut Pesto with a Texas Twist. Ingredients:
1 cup fresh basil |
2 cups baby spinach |
4 garlic cloves, peeled |
2 cups pecan pieces, lightly toasted |
1 teaspoon coarse (kosher or sea) salt |
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (imho: colavita has the best taste so far) |
1 cup pecorino romano, grated |
Directions:
1. Toast the pecan pieces. Watch that they do not burn.
2. Rinse the Basil and Spinach to get rid of whatever sand might remain.
3. Place the pecans in the food processor and then load the basil, spinach and the garlic cloves into the bowl also.
4. Add the teaspoon of salt.
5. Pulse a few times to chop coarsely.
6. Drizzle the 1/2 cup of olive oil as you run the food processor.
7. Open and taste…you may need a few more sprinkles of salt.
8. Cook the pasta al dente per the package directions (for DeCecco fettuccine, no more than 8 minutes). Lift the pasta with tongs into a large heated bowl and immediately add one half of the Pesto tossing lightly, adding more as needed to your taste. Lightly coated works as this like all Pesto’s is a vibrant tasting condiment.
9. Add a ladle full of the pasta water, toss again and then sprinkle 1 cup of the Parmesan or Romano freshly grated cheese into the bowl and toss yet again. Serve in individual heated bowls with more cheese at the table.
10. This recipe provides you with enough pesto to dress 1 pound of linguine/fettucine. The rest can be frozen in small containers (finally, here is a use for the smallest of containers. I mean really, what ever could you use a quarter cup storage container cup for, anyway???)
11. To freeze, smooth out the single portion of pesto in the container and add a thin covering of olive oil to maintain the color. This will freeze well for 6 months!
12. I had pesto on grilled chicken in Italy…it was soooo good! Now that I found one I like, I can use it on lots of grilled meats and fish.
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