Homemade Pesto Pasta

You can't go wrong with a pesto pasta, and this homemade recipe is so easy you'll never want to buy store bought pesto again! This dish can be whipped up in 15 minutes, so it's a delicious and easy weeknight meal.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup of of olive oil
• 200g of pasta, I've used Strozzapreti
• 1/2 cup of pine nuts
• 100g of cheese, finely grated (You can use Parmesan, Pecorino or Grana Padano)
• 1 lemon, for the zest
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• A small bunch of basil
• Optional: Fresh Mozzarella for serving

Watch the process

Method

1. Start by boiling a pot of water, half filling the pot and also boiling the kettle in tandem, this always halves your boiling time. 
2. Then, start your pesto by toasting 1/2 cup of pine nuts into a pan on low/medium heat for a couple of minutes until they turn golden. Once cooked transfer them to a bowl or plate to cool.
3. Then add your pasta to the pot of generously salted boiling water and cook until al dente.
4. Meanwhile, in a food processor, add in your roasted pine nuts, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Then blitz until you get a rough paste.
5. Then add in your basil leaves, the rest of the olive oil, 4 cloves of garlic, the zest of 1 lemon and more salt & pepper (to taste). Blitz until smooth.
6. Once your pasta is al dente, transfer this to a pan and add in your pesto with about 1 cup of reserved pasta water. Gently stir for a minute on low heat t o allow the pasta to soak up the water and emulsify into a light sauce. 
7. Then turn the heat off, and sprinkle in about a handful of grated cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted. 
8. I like to serve this with basil leaves, some mozzarella and cracked pepper.