Pesto Pasta with Toasted Walnuts

June 27, 2010

I love basil. A lot. My two small basil plants have been flourishing this summer, and I was feeling inspired. So, I chopped almost all of the leaves off and decided to make some pesto. I had never before made pesto, but it turned out really tasty...even the somewhat picky husband couldn't quit dipping bits of baguette into it. I sliced my baguette into little rounds, brushed a dab of extra virgin olive oil on each slice, then sprinkled some garlic salt on top. Then I baked them at 375 degrees F for about 10 minutes or so to crisp them up into little garlic toasts. They go perfectly with the pesto pasta!
I didn't have a ton of basil, probably only about 2 cups of whole leaves, so this recipe doesn't make a big portion. I also gave up dairy recently, so I didn't use any parm cheese, which is traditional for this dish. As one last little note, I don't like pine nuts, so I substituted walnuts instead.

Here's the Recipe: (serves 2 as a main dish)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 cup walnuts for pesto (more if you're going to garnish your plate with them)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon (mine was extra juicy, so you may need a whole lemon's juices)
• 1-2 TB extra virgin olive oil (add more if you want. I was trying to keep it lighter in calories)
• 3 cloves garlic, skins removed but kept whole
• salt to your tastes
• 4 oz. pasta of your choice (I used penne)

Method:

1. In a small pot, boil some salted water, then add your pasta.
2. Meanwhile, place your walnuts into a skillet. Place skillet on medium heat, stirring often for about 6-9 minutes. Remove from heat when you start to smell the nuts toasting (careful not to burn them).
3. Place the basil, walnuts, garlic cloves, olive oil and lemon juice in a food processor and whir until there are very little pieces remaining. I like some texture to my pesto. You may need to stop and scrape the sides down and whir some more to ensure there are no large chunks of garlic remaining. No one wants to bite into a big hunk of raw garlic.
4. Add the salt and whir once more.
5. Drain your pasta and return to pot. I added about 3/4 of the pesto to the pot and stirred well, coating all of the noodles.  I actually turned the burner on low for a few minutes to gently heat the pesto.
6. The other 1/4 of the pesto is excellent for dipping your little garlic toasts into...or just add it to your pasta.