Home · Recipes · Basil pesto farfalle

Basil Pesto Farfalle

35 minutesServes 4Taught in Global Cuisines

Real pesto is pounded, not blitzed — the difference is texture and heat. A mortar keeps the basil sweet and the oil emerald, while a food processor bruises both. In our Global Cuisines course this is the dish where students finally believe us, because they taste both versions side by side.

Farfalle's folds catch the sauce beautifully, and blistered cherry tomatoes add the acid punch that rich pesto needs.

Method

Pound the garlic with a pinch of salt to a paste. Add pine nuts and crush, then the basil in handfuls, grinding to a coarse paste. Stir in pecorino, then the oil in a slow stream.
Blister the tomatoes in a dry, ripping-hot pan for 3 to 4 minutes until charred and slumped; season well.
Boil the farfalle in aggressively salted water until just al dente. Reserve a mug of pasta water, then drain.
Toss pasta with pesto and tomatoes, loosening with splashes of pasta water until glossy. Serve immediately with extra pecorino.

Never heat the pesto — the hot pasta wakes it up; the pan kills it.

Pesto keeps five days under a thin cap of oil in the fridge. It also freezes in ice-cube trays for instant weeknight pasta.

Learn It In Class All Recipes