Fusilli Al Pesto

Fusilli Al Pesto or should we say it super fancy and make it fusilli al pesto genovese (what a mouthful😊!!) is a vegetarian pasta recipe that is super quick and easy. With a sauce that clings to the tightly woven twirled pasta, this simple yet full flavoured dish is so satisfying. Fusilli pesto is the perfect any night of the week meal or can be served as a cold pasta salad ticking the very versatile recipe box!

Recipes like the Fusilli Bolognese, Linguine Bolognese and Macaroni Bolognese give us non spaghetti pasta recipes.

The Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad and Linguine Al Pesto are bright, light and full of textural yum.

🤍 Recipe Highlights

I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:

• Vegetarian: whilst spag bowl is a great go to, sometimes you want a lighter pasta dish that has an alternative protein. The pistachios and parmesan cheese tick that box leaving you not feeling 'too full'.
• Simple: both in the list of ingredients as well as the combination of pesto and pasta. This effortless and fuss free approach allows us to make a straight forward and simple dinner. No elbow grease required 😉 .
• Taste and texture: the shape of the fusilli lends itself perfectly to encasing the slippery pesto sauce in a manner that literally coats the insides of each piece of pasta with serious yum!
• Budget friendly: being a non meat based recipe, this dish cuts the cost and gets us putting dinner on the table without breaking the bank. The most expensive ingredients will be the parmesan cheese and pistachios and you can look for a home brand version of each.
• Pesto pasta: works as it is a fresh and vibrant recipe that is satisfying but not overly heavy.

🥗 Ingredients

The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.

As you can see the recipe calls for:

• Fusilli: is a type of pasta that resembles short tight twirls. Also known as rotini, it has a tighter round twirly spun weave appearance than traditional 'spiral pasta' but looks very similar.
• Basil leaves: the primary ingredient for the pesto. This adds a herby freshness to the recipe. We need the leaves and can discard the stems.
• Pistachio nuts: a great alternative to pine nuts for pesto, these are tasty and high in protein.
• Parmesan cheese: freshly grated if you can. This adds a lovely depth of flavour to the pesto.
• Garlic: fresh cloves are ideal and only need the little end bit cut off before throwing into the food processor.
• Lemon juice: squeezed from a real lemon or from a bottle if that is all you have, both will achieve the same result in lifting the flavour of the pesto.
• Olive oil: this helps the pesto combine into a slick paste.

Tasty tip: to garnish the finished dish, I recommend more grated parmesan cheese, freshly cracked black pepper and some basil leaves for a pop of colour!

🍳 Instructions

Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by making the pesto. A food processor is the quickest and easiest way to do this, but you can also use a mortar and pestle if you prefer.

• Add basil leaves to food processor (Photo 1)
• Then add pistachio nuts (Photo 2)
• Next add garlic cloves (Photo 3)
• Then add parmesan cheese (Photo 4)

👩‍🍳 How to Make Fusilli Al Pesto

Start by gathering the ingredients to make the pesto. Then add the basil, pistachio nuts, garlic cloves and parmesan cheese to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse these till combined and use a spatula to scrap down the sides of the food processor after blitzing. Next drizzle in the olive oil. Then taste the pesto, you want to have a good idea at this point of how it has come together before adding the lemon juice.

• Add the olive oil (Photo 5)
• Then add the lemon juice and blitz to combine (Photo 6)
• Transfer combined pesto to a small bowl (Photo 7)
• Reserve pasta water (Photo 8)

Add the lemon juice in slowly, blitz, then use a teaspoon to test the pesto again. Add additional lemon juice if required or if the flavour is achieved, then use a spatula to transfer the combined pesto to a small bowl.

Next read and cook the fusilli according to the packet instructions. You will need a saucepan and a pinch of salt. As we need to keep some of the pasta water for the sauce, before draining this, scoop out some of the pasta water as shown in the photo above (step 8).

• Drain pasta (Photo 9)
• Add cooked pasta and pesto to a large sauté pan (Photo 10)
• Pour in 1 cup of reserved pasta water (Photo 11)
• Stir to combine (Photo 12)

Once you have scooped out the pasta water (you will need 1 cup, but I usually scoop 2 out to have some spare). You can drain and discard the rest of the water, then add the cooked fusilli pasta to a large sauté pan.

Then turn the stove on to low heat, dollop in the pesto, pour in 1 cup of reserved pasta water and stir to combine.

You will notice that due to the heat of the cooked pasta, the pesto will begin to melt somewhat and bind with the pasta thanks also to the addition of the starchy pasta water 😊. Keep stirring until it is consistently combined. Then you are ready to serve the dish!

🍽 Serving Suggestions

This recipe goes down very well with the Turkish Garlic Bread, Ciabatta Garlic Bread or Garlic Pizza Bread.

For a pizza and pasta pairing try the Ciabatta Pizza or Bruschetta Pizza.

For a full feast try the Marinated Lamb Ribs, BBQ Lamb Ribs or Oven Baked Pork Ribs.

Be liberal and generously garnish the finished dish with freshly grated parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper and some fresh basil leaves, then grab a fork and dig in!

👍 How to Guide

How to Store

Store leftovers of the pasta in sealed, air tight containers in the fridge. They can be refrigerated for 3 days and can be consumed hot or cold.

How to Freeze

Allow the dish to fully cool. Then portion into air tight containers or zip lock bags, squeeze the air out then seal. Frozen portions of the dish can be kept in the freezer for 3 months.

How to Reheat

Allow frozen portions to fully thaw in the fridge overnight or on the bench during the day before reheating. Reheat in the microwave (fastest) covered for 3 to 4 minutes. Or you can add the cooked fusilli pesto pasta back to a pan on the stove with a few drops of oil, turn to medium heat and stir till the pasta is heated through.

😉 Substitutions and Variations

Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:

• You can use cashews, pine nuts or walnuts as alternatives to the pistachio nuts (equivalent amount) if you wish.
• You can use gluten free pasta to fit your diet and lifestyle.
• If you really want meat in the recipe, you can fry off some bacon and add it when combining the pesto, pasta and water.
• For vegetables, try adding a cup of cooked frozen peas, or steam some snow peas or green beans.
• You can add cooked broccolini, asparagus or fresh mini bocconcini balls.
• Pecorino romano (made with sheeps's milk not cow's) is an alternative to the parmesan cheese.
• You can provide fresh lemon wedges for serving if you want additional lemon flavour in the fusilli pesto pasta.

💡 Tasty Tips

Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:

• When making the pesto, after adding the olive oil taste it. Then slowly add the lemon juice and taste it as you go. This will allow you to get the flavour spot on.
• For leftovers, you can also keep some of the reserved pasta water in a jar in the fridge. Add a little of it when reheating the leftovers to get more of a freshly cooked wet pasta.
• Toast some roughly chopped pistachios to use as a garnish when serving.
• Toasted pine nuts also work as a great garnishing idea. They also add a little crunchy texture to the chewy rotini.

🤓 Frequently Asked Questions

What pasta goes well with pesto?

Pesto works well with pasta that it can cling to. Pasta like fusilli, penne, rigatoni and fettucine and are great pairings for pesto.

What cheese is best with pesto?

The best cheese for pesto is freshly shaved parmesan cheese or pecorino Romano cheese. They are also great to use when garnishing the pesto dish with cracked black pepper.

Do you add pesto to hot or cold pasta?

Add the room temperature pesto to freshly cooked drained pasta. The pasta will be warm and allow you to stir the pesto through it, adding some leftover pasta water to create a slick pesto sauce.

😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes

Dinner can be as easy as 1,2,3 with simple recipes up your sleeve that the whole family will love. Each of the following are ones that I have a feeling you will love 😊:

• Chicken Spaghetti Bolognese
• Spaghetti Gorgonzola
• Rigatoni Gorgonzola
• Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti
• Pork Bolognese
• Oven Baked Pork Ribs
• Lamb Bolognese
• Turkey Mince Bolognese
• Bacon Pesto Pasta
• Pesto Pasta with Sausage

It's a pesto pasta party my friend 😉👍! You can also find all of my pasta recipes in the one spot. Eat on xx.

Adrianne

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