Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb. short cut pasta
- 1 roasted red pepper
- ½ cup sundried tomatoes (drain if packed in oil)
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves plus a few leaves for garnish
- ½ cup toasted walnuts
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- Juice from ½ lemon (about 4-5 tsp.)
- 2 tblsp. tomato paste
- 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 cup pasta water
- 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (less if you don’t like heat or disregard)
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
Preparation
- Bring large pot of water to boil, salt generously, add pasta and cook until al dente, 2 minutes short of recommended cook time. Drain pasta and save 1 cup of pasta water for pesto.
- Add all pesto ingredients to bowl of food processor with blade attachment except olive oil, cheese and pasta water. Blend until smooth.
- Add cheese and turn on motor, drizzling olive oil through feed tube until well blended.
- While motor is running add half of pasta water until pesto is creamy.
- Add half of pesto to large pot with cooked pasta.
- Add half of cooked noodles and mix well.
- Add rest of pasta and the other half of pesto. Mix thoroughly, if sauce seems dry add rest of pasta water and mix until glossy.
- Place in serving bowl and garnish with torn basil leaves. Pass grated parmesan at table if desired.