Walnuts taste even better in pesto than pine nuts. Spinach linguine keeps this easy pasta recipe a lovely shade of green.
Servings: 2
Walnuts are less expensive and easier to find than the traditional pine nuts and I think they taste even better, plus they're loaded with healthy fats. Spinach linguine keeps the pasta a lovely shade of green. This recipe originally was written for and published for Refinery29 as part of an article on easy pasta recipes. See the rest of the article here.
Ingredients
For Pesto
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 cups loosely packed fresh basil
- 1/2 cup good quality olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For Pasta
- 1 pound spinach linguine
- 1 cup prepared walnut pesto from recipe above
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon salt for the pasta water
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Process all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor until well combined.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Drain, but do not rinse the pasta, this will reserve a little bit of the pasta water in the sauce.
- Return to the pot and stir in the pesto and Parmesan cheese, add salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with a few small basil leaves if you have any left over and serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and fresh ground pepper on top.
- Save any extra pesto in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
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