This is a very easy and quick homemade pesto pasta recipe, It really tastes good and close to the original. Above all It is not too cheesy like other pasta recipes and has some health quotient from spinach, basil and nuts.
Ingredients
For pesto
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- ½ cup walnuts (or pine nuts or pecan nuts)
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- ½ cup grated cheese or cubes
- ½ cup milk
- Salt to taste
For pasta
- 2-3 cups of boiled penne pasta
- Olive oil
- Grated cheese
How to proceed;
Boil water in a big pan and add spinach and basil leaves to it. Cook just for 2 mins.
Drain it immediately. You can run it under cold water and allow it to cool.
Once cooled add cheese, garlic, walnuts, and milk. Blend this into a smooth paste in a mixer. You can adjust the quality of milk. The paste shouldn’t be too liquidy. The consistency should be like a thick sauce. Pesto is usually made of pine nuts, but it tastes very good with walnuts and this time I used pecan nuts in place of walnuts. It tasted best!
Heat a nonstick pan, add 1-2 tablespoon of olive oil and add pesto. Cook it for 2-3 mins and add the boiled penne pasta to it. Mix well and serve hot. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top and a few basil leaves to decorate 🙂
