Pesto Pasta

Pesto is definitely one of the easiest and most delicious things to make in the summer and I definitely take advantage of that when I can. As I was walking through the farmers market the other day, I saw huge bunches of fresh green basil and knew right away that pesto was going to be on my menu in the near future.

I wanted to keep the dish simple, so I thought I’d pair it with some noodles, but I wanted to be careful about which noodles I chose. I had a disaster about a week ago with some rice noodles that I bought from Trader Joe’s that completely ruined this beautiful cold noodle salad that I prepared. I chopped up all of my vegetables and herbs and made this yummy dressing, but made the fatal mistake of not trying to noodles before I mixed everything in, and once I did, I regretted it. The noodles tasted and had the consistency of wallpaper paste and the more you chewed them the more they seemed to coagulate in my mouth. I couldn’t even get the bite down my throat before spitting it out and I was sorely disappointed.

I didn’t want to make the same mistake again, so after trying out the new Brooklyn Bridge Park skating rink, I Yelped a place nearby that sold fresh pasta and to my delight I found Caputo’s Fine Foods in Cobble Hill located at 460 Court Street.

They have a wide assortment of fine Italian foods and freezers full of various types of fresh pasta at really great prices. I ended up getting fresh homemade Penne Rigate and because I had walked quite a bit to get there, I figured I might as well make it worth the trip, and also got mini cheese raviolis.

The recipe that I used for the pesto is a variation of this that I found on epicurious. I used less garlic and pine nuts, but that is just my preference and it was really quick to make:

Ingredients:

• 3 large garlic cloves (I used 2 cloves)
• 1/2 cup pine nuts (I used about a 1/4 cup)
• 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, coarsely grated (2/3 cup)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cups loosely packed fresh basil
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. With food processor running, drop in garlic and finely chop.
2. Stop motor and add nuts, cheese, salt, pepper, and basil, then process until finely chopped.
3. With motor running, add oil, blending until incorporated.

Enjoy!