Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Creamy Pesto Pasta

I so glad that my 2 kids have learnt to accept the taste of basil! Now I've stock of frozen pesto cubes in my freezer whereby I can whip up simple pesto pasta any time for them. I love this healthier version of Creamy Pesto Pasta without added cheese and cream...dairy free! 


Homemade Pesto Sauce without cheese

Basil Pesto 
Ingredient
  • 1 cup toasted walnuts
  • 150gm fresh basil leaves
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2/3 cup olive oil
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Method
  1. Bring 4 cups salted water to a boil. Add in basil and submerge with a spoon. Immediately remove from heat and drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water and pat the leaves completely dry with paper towels.
  2. In a food processor, add in walnuts, basil and garlic. Blend until nuts are finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper. Add in olive oil gradually and process until mixture is smooth. Use immediately or scoop portion into ice cube tray and freeze till hard. Dislodge the frozen pesto cubes from the tray and store in ziplog bag. Continue to freeze till use. 



Preparing creamy pesto sauce without the cream! The creamy paste is actually a concoction of cashew nuts and water.

Toss in cooked pasta to coat the sauce and ready to be served!

Creamy Pesto Pasta
Ingredient (2 servings)
  • 1/4 cup raw whole cashew nuts
  • 100ml water
  • 1 cube frozen pesto
  • 120gm linguine or your choice of pasta
  • salt and pepper to taste 
  • chopped parsley for garnishing


Method
  1. Cook the pasta accordingly to package instructions.
  2. Meanwhile, in a food blender, process cashew nuts and water until mixture is creamy liked.
  3. Heat the cashew cream in a pan over low heat. Add in pesto cube and stir till combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
  4. When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain and toss into the creamy pesto sauce. If its too thick, add in tbsp of reserved pasta water. Turn off heat. Serve hot and garnish with chopped parsley.






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