Chef notes
Pesto is an Italian sauce that’s easy to love. It’s herby, cheese, garlic-heavy and an instant way to transform a plain old box of pasta into a flavor-forward dinner. This twist is sure to knock your socks off. Nutty almonds, bright lemon and zesty mustard give this simple sauce serious depth of flavor and palate-pleasing texture.
The Italian sauce hails from the northwestern, coastal region of Genoa. It dates back to around the 16th century and is traditionally made with a combination of fresh basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese that are crushed together in a mortar and pestle and mixed with olive oil.
Nowadays, there are endless riffs of the traditional sauce. This version keeps the basil, garlic and Parmesan cheese but swaps the pine nuts for almonds and adds lemon juice and Dijon mustard to the mix. Almonds give the sauce an even nuttier, more savory characteristic while lemon juice lends fresh zing and the Dijon mustard provides a bit of heat. The sauce comes together in a blender instead of the classic mortar and pestle to keep it as quick and effortless as possible.
We like rigatoni for this recipe, which catches the pesto vinaigrette in its ridges nicely, but you can use any of your favorite shapes like spaghetti, penne or linguine. To bulk this pasta up with some protein, try adding shredded chicken or sautéed shrimp. Or fill it with some vegetables by tossing in baby spinach or halved cherry tomatoes, which will wilt from the heat of the pasta.
Get Ingredients: If you don’t have everything you need on hand, you can easily purchase all of the ingredients (just click the orange button below that says ‘Get Ingredients’). You can pick and choose exactly what ingredients you need based on what’s in your pantry and they’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup almonds
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 pound rigatoni or another short pasta
Preparation
1.Put the basil, lemon juice, garlic, oil, mustard, Parmesan, almonds, and salt and pepper to taste in a blender, and process until smooth.
2.Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions.
3.Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce to coat evenly.
