Pesto is a traditional spread from Genoa, Italy made with lots of fresh basil, pine nuts, aged parmesan cheese and extra-virgin olive oil. These can be pricey ingredients, and pesto can be made from other ingredients. Parmesan cheese can be completely omitted or replaced by less expensive shelf-stable shredded parmesan. Pine nuts can be replaced by a handful or so of any nut, including walnuts or blanched almonds. Extra-virgin olive oil should not be replaced with regular olive oil, because the flavor cannot be matched, and this is a sauce that isn't cooked. Fresh basil can be somewhat pricey when making homemade pesto, but frozen spinach is a good stand-in for a bulk of the greens. From there a few sprigs of fresh basil and/or fresh parsley livens the flavor. Of course, fresh baby spinach can be used, too. To make this sauce simply add the greens (thaw the spinach if using frozen) to a food processor and start pulsing. Toss in the cheese and nuts and then start streaming extra virgin olive oil until the sauce or paste is to a good consistency. Some may like their pesto thicker than others. Don't forget to salt and pepper to taste, and a squeeze of fresh lemon is a nice finishing touch. This can either be enjoyed totally vegetarian, or frozen shrimp which comes de-veined and fully cooked adds quick protein to the meal.
A large can of canned tomatoes either diced or whole (crush tomatoes with a fork) can be transformed into a zesty tomato sauce with just a few ingredients. One onion diced and caramelized in the bottom of a sauce pan with a few cloves of crushed garlic, a tablespoon or so of crushed red pepper flakes and a splash of balsamic vinegar kicks up the flavor. Pancetta or bacon can also be added to the sauce for some added flavor. Add the can of tomatoes and simmer until the sauce has reduced. Be easy on seasoning, because bacon, canned tomatoes and other ingredients can actually add some saltiness, and there will be a good amount of heat from the crushed red pepper flakes.
Cooking pasta seems like the most mundane kitchen task, but there are a few major things that are often overlooked. Pasta needs a lot of water to cook in, so the biggest pot in the kitchen should be used. If there isn't enough water, the starches build up in the water and the pasta sticks to each other. A quick splash of olive oil can be put in the water, too, to help with this. Be sure to season the water as soon as it starts to boil. Salting the water helps to season the pasta from the inside out, so that the flavor doesn't just coat the pasta. Most people don't enjoy overcooked pasta, and pasta continues to cook after it is pulled out of the cooking water, so pull the pasta off the heat when it has the slightest bite in the middle, known as al-dente.
When serving the pasta dishes, it is a good to add the pasta to a sauce pan and stir so that the pasta absorbs the most flavor. With the pesto sauce you can just put the sauce in the bottom of a serving dish and spoon pasta into the sauce. Don't throw the pasta water out too soon because it can be needed to add to the sauce to thin it out. The pasta water has a great amount of starch in it, which is better than just plain water.
The best way to finish these sauces is just a drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil or some extra cheese (if you're not a "dairy-freeer")
*** Don't know which pasta to choose? Think about the thickness of the sauce. Angel hair pasta is good for thin sauces, while sauces with either ground meat or just thicker is good for pasta with ridges or hollow pasta like macaroni that hold the sauce. For the recipes in this blog spaghetti or linguini (which means little tongues) work well.
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