Linguini with Pesto & Cherry Tomatoes
Pesto is one of those foods that should always be in your pantry. Easy to make, but lots of great store-bought options available. This is such a simple dish, but when entertaining we usually try so hard we forget about the beautiful little basic dishes. At the end of the summer, pesto and cherry tomatoes on pasta is elegant, flavourful and totally seasonal. To add a bit of richness to this dish, try adding some ricotta. Recipe adapted from This Food, That Wine by Chris Knight.
Ingredients
2 cups (500ml) of basil, washed and dried
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 cup (250ml) pine nuts, toasted
1 cup (250ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 cup (250ml) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 pint (500ml) cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
Optional: 1/2 cup ricotta, crumbled
How To Make
1
Combine the basil, garlic and pine nuts in the bowl of a food processor. Leave the motor running and add the olive oil in a slow and stead stream. Once everything looks well blended, scrape the pesto into a bowl and stir in the Parmesan. This will be more pesto than you’ll need for 4 people so save some in a your refrigerator for a week or freeze it in small batches.
2
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook linguini, drain and toss lightly with a little olive oil. Toss with your pesto and place a little mound on each plate.
3
Garnish with your cherry tomatoes and another grate or two of Parmesan cheese.
4
Optional: if you want a bit more richness in your pasta, add in the crumbled ricotta cheese when you toss in the pesto sauce.
