Pasta with pesto sauce

Pasta with pesto sauce

Ingredients for pasta with pesto sauce

Basil leaves: 55 gms
Pine nuts: 20 gms
Garlic: one or two cloves
Parmesan (two years old): 40 gms
Sardinian pecorino cheese: 10 gms
Coarse salt: a few grain
Extra virgin olive oil from the liqurian Riviera: 550gms

Direction for pasta with pesto sauce

Wash the basil leaves in plenty of cold water. Leave them to dry on a towel. You can also use a hand-operated salad spinner. During this process, pay attention not to break, crush or rub the basil leaves. You need to use a marble mortar and wooden pestle when making Genoese pesto. Once clean, crush the garlic and pine nuts in the mortar until they are creamy. Add the dry basil leaves a few at a time, and salt. Don’t beat the mixture, but use the pestle with a delicate movement, rotating it against the sides of the mortar. This movement is necessary to extract the essential oils from the veins of the basil leaves, which are therefore not broken but rubbed against the side of the mortar. Continue this movement until the sauce is homogeneous and well-mixed, and the basil is very fine. Add the parmesan and the Sardinian pecorino cheese. Slowly add the extra virgin olive oil and stir again with a wooden spoon until the cheese is mixed in.

Europian Recipes-Parsleyed pasta

Parsleyed pasta

Ingredients for Parsleyed pasta
250 gm cooked ribbon pasta as per instruction on the packet or freshly made pasta boiled, drained and tossed with 1 tsp oil
2-3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
4 tbsp melted butter
4-5 tbsp thick cream
Salt and pepper to season

Garnish spring of parsley

Method for Parsleyed pasta
In a pan, gently toss the pasta over low heat with all the ingredients and season well with salt and pepper. Place in a suitable dish and garnish with spring of parsley ( Chicken breast finely minced can be used on top of the pasta)