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Penne and pesto; gussy it up, or don’t

Easy blended sauce makes foundation for array of nibbles

The Columbian
Published: May 26, 2014, 5:00pm

The beauty of pesto is that it’s simple to make: Put all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and hit pulse.

Within a minute or so, you have this terrific-tasting condiment/sauce with many uses, such as dressing a bowl of pasta.

You can simply add the pesto alone or gussy it up like we do today with tomatoes, cheese and olives.

Best of all, this recipe comes together in 30 minutes.


Penne With Pesto, Tomatoes and Olives

Serves: 4 (as a main dish); Preparation time: 15 minutes; Total time: 30 minutes

2 cups tightly packed basil leaves

2 cloves peeled garlic, toasted if desired

Sea salt to taste

1/4 cup toasted walnuts

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 to 7 tablespoons olive oil

12 ounces penne or other short pasta

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup Kalamata olives, quartered

1/2 to 3/4 cup pearl or cherry-size fresh mozzarella

Black pepper to taste

Basil sprigs

Process the basil, garlic, salt, walnuts and Parmesan until the leaves are coarsely chopped. With the machine running, add about 6 tablespoons olive oil (more as needed) until the mixture is smooth but still more paste than sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.

Cook the pasta according to package directions in salted boiling water. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the rest. Leave the pasta in the pot. Stir in the tomatoes, olives and as much pesto as you wish, and heat through. If the mixture seems too dry, moisten with a little reserved pasta cooking water or more pesto.

Warm four pasta bowls, add pasta, top with the fresh mozzarella pearls and garnish with basil sprigs.

Per serving: 542 calories (52 percent from fat), 32 grams fat (6 grams sat. fat), 50 grams carbohydrates, 17 grams protein, 610 mg sodium, 16 mg cholesterol, 5 grams fiber.

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