Pesto Pasta Recipe - Quick & Easy - Amazing Flavor - Family Favorite. (2024)

FAQs

What makes pesto taste better? ›

Add a pinch of salt if the basil tastes too bitter or the pesto needs more zing. Add more Parmesan if you'd like a creamier/cheesier pesto. If desired, you can thin out the pesto with more olive oil.

What Kind of Cheese Should I Use? I used fresh mozzarella because I love the way it melts, but you can use block or grated mozzarella in its place (that's usually more affordable as well). Other types of cheese that would work great with pesto are: smoked mozzarella, gruyere, swiss, brie, or white cheddar.

Similar to oil-based sauces, pesto is served best with longer cuts of pasta, like the corkscrew shape of Fusilli. Pesto works best with Bucatini, Capellini, thinner Spaghettini, and Fettuccine.

To upgrade your favorite brand of pesto, turn it into a rich cream sauce by sauteing onions, garlic, seasonings, heavy cream, and shredded cheese. You can customize to your tastes by swapping onions for shallots, grated parmesan for shredded asiago, or a sprinkle of fresh herbs.

Anything sugary will work: granulated white sugar, honey, fruit juices, even sweet dessert wines. Acid in the form of vinegar or citrus juices can make a pesto taste less bitter and could even enhance the flavour of the sauce at the same time.

Add nuts, garlic, zest of 1 lemon and salt to a food processor and pulse into a fairly smooth paste. Add cheese to nut paste and add about 3 tablespoons EVOO; process until smooth. Pulse process basil into sauce until fairly smooth, adding juice of 1 lemon and remaining EVOO.

Yes, pesto can be used straight from the jar and doesn't require cooking or heating. In fact, we actively discourage applying too much heat to pesto, as this will destroy many of the fresh flavours that producers work so hard to retain.

The most popular variety of pesto now is made by "crushing" basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and some hard cheese in a food processor or blender, but there are many varieties of pesto like sun dried tomato pesto or kale pesto.

Additions - Some roasted or fresh cherry tomatoes would be delicious, I like to add fresh basil leaves to the top too. Pesto usually has pine nuts but you could add some extra toasted ones into the sauce. To add some greens you could mix through some chopped fresh spinach.

Why does my pesto pasta taste bland? ›

You do not need to cook pesto, as its flavours are best enjoyed raw. Instead, allow the residual heat from your freshly cooked pasta to gently warm it as you stir it in. Why is my pesto bland? It's likely because you need to add more basil or salt.

Adding a small amount of acidity (lemon juice or vinegar) and balancing that with a little sweetness (sugar or honey) is the best way to take the edge off a pesto that tastes overwhelmingly of garlic. Almost every cuisine on earth makes use of garlic, and it's a vital component in pesto.

The most common reason for pesto tasting bitter is that the olive oil is past its best and has started to turn rancid. If the pesto has been made in a food processor or blender, there's also the possibility that it has turned bitter from the crude, sheering action of the blades.