Preparation Time : 20 minutes
Cooking Time : 25 minutes
Serving : 4 members
Description
The new craze in me for Italian cuisine just makes me want to try every single Italian recipe I come across that interests me . When ever I get to see some thing in the shelves of gourmet stores that’s Italian I just grab it even if I don’t know what it is used for . Like wise I did the same with a bottle of pesto that was a pale green in colour , with the above floating with olive oil . Back home it was just in the store room shelf as it was in the shelves of the gourmet store . I happened to attend a cooking work shop of master chef India season 3 winner rippu dhaman handa in Coimbatore where he made a herby pesto from scratch . I was like ” OMG it’s dead easy and why did I have to get it from the shelves of a gourmet store for a whooping prise . ” later that bottle was used to make pesto bread pinwheels . Now , I make home made pesto and add it to salads , spread it over sandwich’s and katti rolls , serve it as a dip … I can go on and on . Wanting to impress and show off my new learnt Italian dishes made up my mind to serve an Italian spread for a family dinner at home . Spaghetti was one among the dishes I had in mind but wanted a change from the regular tomato – cheese based sauce I make usually . The bulb moment happened when I remembered Italian chef David rocca using pesto and tossing up a spaghetti . Went ahead with the same idea in mind but following my intuitions of the recipe . Tasted and it was spot on with a new welcoming colour that was herby and fragrant in taste . I did have a little left over which I tossed over equal amounts of cornflour + flour and deep fried to crisp and served it along a warm bowl of soup on a rainy cold night . These small inventions I come up with left overs putting as much love and effort into what I cook gives me a reason to smile when the deliciousness of the dish travels across the table .
Ingredients
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| spaghetti | 250 grams boiled in a pinch of salt and some olive oil ( reserve the boiled water ) |
| olive oil | 1 tablespoon |
| mint leaves | few to garnish |
| cherry tomatoes | 2 |
| garlic | 1clove peeled |
Ingredients For the Pesto Sauce
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| basil | 2 cups ( at times I substitute with 1 cup mint + 1 cup coriander leaves or equal amounts of all the three ) |
| Parmesan cheese | 1/2 cup grated |
| toasted walnuts or pine nuts | 1/2 cup ( I used pine nuts ) |
| Salt | to taste |
| garlic | 4 cloves |
| olive oil | 3 tablespoons |
Method For the Pesto Sauce
In a blender add all the ingredients and mix till a semi-fine paste is achieved.
For the Pasta
- In a pan heat the olive oil , add the garlic clove. Add the cherry tomatoes .
- Remove the whole garlic clove.Add the pesto sauce. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the boiled spaghetti.Toss well , making sure the pesto sauce has coated the spaghetti all over .
- Add about 4 tablespoons of spaghetti boiled water to get the right consistency and moister .
- Garnish with a mint sprig and serve hot.
