Friday, January 18, 2013

Recipe: Farfalle with Homemade Pesto, Cherry Tomatoes and Walnuts (Vegetarian)

I am really happy that my pot of basil is thriving in our garden. Every couple of weeks, I will harvest the leaves and make a pot of pesto. Homemade pesto can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, as long as you cover it with a thin layer of olive oil.

A friend asked me if you could make pesto with a blender. Of course, and I sometimes make it this way when I do not have the luxury of time to do with a mortar and pestle. All you need to do is place the pine nuts, garlic and some olive oil and blend it, then add the basil leaves, olive oil, salt and freshly grated Parmesan cheese and blend to a smooth paste. Including plucking the leaves and washing up, this will take you roughly 10 minutes to do. Previously I mentioned that pesto with the mortar & pestle method stays vibrant for longer, but to be honest, making it with the blender also gives you a vivid green pesto. So no shame in using a blender to make it.

Farfalle with Homemade Pesto, Cherry Tomatoes and Walnuts

Now that you have a jar of lovely homemade pesto, what do you do with it? My favorite way of using it is to  eat it with pasta. You can use any type of pasta, but my preferred ones are farfalle (bowtie pasta) and fusilli as I find that the pesto clings on better to these two types. We've also tried it with homemade tagliatelle. All you need to do is cook the paste until al dente, then mix well with the pesto and then top with cherry tomatoes and walnuts. I think the last two ingredients brings out the best in the pesto and are the perfect accompaniments to pesto.



Since I am vegetarian for the day on the first day of CNY, I am thinking of making this. Who says you can only have Chinese food on CNY eh? ;)



Farfalle with Homemade Pesto, Cherry tomatoes, and Walnuts
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 2-3

Ingredients
150g farfalle pasta
200g Japanese cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 tsp Parmesan cheese
A handful walnuts, roughly chopped/broken
2-3 fresh basil leaves, to garnish

1 portion homemade pesto alla Genovese (recipe here)


1. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook pasta according to packet instructions, until al dente. Remove from heat and drain. Place in a large bowl.

2. Add 3 tsp water (from boiling pasta) into the homemade pesto to smoothen the paste. Add the pesto to the pasta, reserving about 2-3 tsp for garnish. Mix well, ensuring the pasta is coated evenly with pesto.

3. To serve, divide pasta equally between serving plates. Arrange cherry tomatoes and walnuts, then place a quenelle of pesto in the centre of the plate/bowl. Garnish with a fresh basil leaf. Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese if desired. Serve immediately.




28 comments:

  1. yum!! sometimes the most simple ingredients makes superb flavors.... I have yet to try making pesto.. just never happen to have basil around so I have to buy it...

    lovely... and its really great that your kids will eat this... I m hoping Dylan will eat this too... :)

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    Replies
    1. If you like eating pesto then u shd definitely try to make yr own. It's very easy using a blender. Basil is very accessible too, most supermarkets will stock it. :)

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  2. Look at the facial expression of your princess, she is very happy with mummy's ribbon pasta! Can share with aunty jessie?

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    Replies
    1. She really liked the bowtie pasta, cos she said it's very pretty. Haha!

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  3. That looks good. Simple to prepare, only a few ingredients...think I would want to try one of these days.

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  4. So healthy and yummy , love the fact that your children enjoy such healthy food.

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    1. I sometimes cut down on the garlic if I make it for my kids since my daughter thinks the garlic is a little "spicy".

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  5. Love this simple dish. Its my type of dish!

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  6. ooo, farfalle's not exactly my favorite pasta, but i sure wouldn't mind a serving of this! :D

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  7. Any kind , er except macaroni , of pasta will do for me :D Love the flavor , ahhhh homemade pesto ! and texture of your pasta . I'll just imagine how it tastes ;D

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  8. Oh yum! I love pesto! Great with just about anything!

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    Replies
    1. And I also love to lick the food processor bowl clean after I make a batch! ;)

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  9. Hi Yen! Yes, we all love pesto! Are you submitting this to Sonia's CNY event? :)

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    1. Haha I thought abt it, but this is a VERY untraditional dish to serve during CNY. So dunno if Sonia wud approve of it :P

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  10. oh, nothing 's wrong with eating pasta on cny as long as it's good, we're happy! love pasta with pesto too!

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    Replies
    1. Haha another one I have on my list to eat on 1st day of CNY is cold soba :P

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  11. What a great idea to harvest your basil leaves to make your own pesto! And it would taste so much better with such fresh basil! :D

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    Replies
    1. Love homemade pesto, cos I know the basil will be fresh, the olive oil good, and I can use good Parmesan :)

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  12. my the only pot of basil is not enough to make pesto, wish i stay near you, so can take some from you, hehehe..

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    1. Quite lucky cos the last basil plant I bought was quite mature, lots of leaves :) I'm trying to grow more of them, once they grow bigger I can offer u one :)

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  13. I need this.. so i can run run run! Ahhh... u make food looks so pretty u do!

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    Replies
    1. Haha thanks! It's just a simple bowl of pasta ;)

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  14. hope you can post more interesting vegetarian recipes! your post gave me some ideas to cook for my mum.thank you! :D

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  15. Hi Alia, just posted another two vegetarian recipes today. Hope u can try it!

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