Lemon Pesto Pasta Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is lemon pesto made of? ›

Used in Italy as both a pasta sauce or spread for crostini, its preparation is similar to classic pesto by combining basil with cheese, nuts and extra-virgin olive oil, but the addition of the lemon zest and juice gives it a unique flavor and color.

We found that lemon juice, which contains both citric and ascorbic acid, preserved the pesto's green color without compromising its flavor, adding just a hint of pleasant acidity.

Pesto, on the other hand, flourishes best when paired with thinner noodles, such as spaghetti and linguine, and with shapes that have plenty of twists, grooves, curls, and troughs. Fusilli is not only one of the most well-known pasta shapes; it's also the UK's most popular and our ultimate shape to use with pesto.

Because its ingredients include olive oil, nuts, and cheese, pesto can be high in calories and fat. However, the fat is primarily unsaturated and may have heart health benefits. Pesto is also full of antioxidants that can help protect your cells from damage.

As you would expect, pesto's wider variety of ingredients means it does slightly better in the vitamin and mineral stakes. Pesto outsmarts tomato sauce in many of these, but the pasta sauce still provides a sizeable chunk of your recommended daily targets.

The cause of pesto turning brown, or grey is usually because the herbs have started oxidising. The best way to slow that process is to reduce the amount of time the sauce is exposed to air.

When you heat pesto, it's structure changes. The herbs become blackened and the oil changes. The sauce becomes almost bitter. So to answer your question, there is no recommended way because it is recommended that pesto not be heated.

According to Cook's Illustrated, delicate basil leaves oxidize very easily, turning darker or even brown as they get exposed to air.

So, for a standard, single serving of 75g of dried pasta, we think that 50g of pesto is about right. Naturally, everyone's tastes are different, so you'll have to adjust the quantities up or down depending on who you are cooking for. It also greatly depends on what other ingredients you are serving your pasta with.

What pasta pairs with pesto? ›

Pesto Sauce

This fresh and fragrant pasta sauce is served uncooked, so choose a pasta shape that won't overwhelm it. 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.

Swirl into soup before serving, add a spoonful on the side of roast chicken and salad, or dollop over your favourite lasagne. If you've only got a scraping left, pour a little extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar into the jar, screw on the lid and shake to make a salad dressing.

Add some protein - Chicken pesto pasta is a classic so add some cooked chicken breast or thighs into the creamy sauce. Some golden brown pancetta or bacon mixed through would be a great addition too.

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 salty, starchy pasta water will loosen the pesto enough to make a light sauce over the pasta. Because of its salty, starchy quality, this water will make a more flavorful, thicker final pesto sauce than regular water would.

Traditional pesto is made with basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, salt, and Parmesan (or another type of hard Italian cheese, such as Pecorino). You can prepare it with a mortar and pestle (this is the traditional method) or using a blender/food processor.

What does pesto taste like? Traditional pesto is a thick, green sauce that tastes bright and herby from the basil, and salty and rich from the cheeses and pine nuts. It should be garlicky, with pleasant grassiness from good quality olive oil.

Ingredients: Peppers (90%), extra virgin olive oil, wine vinegar, salt, mint.

Properly made pesto tastes fresh and zingy and balanced, not muddy. Each flavor component is identifiable—the fragrant basil, the pungent garlic, the buttery olive oil and sweet pine nuts, the tangy cheeses—and yet none dominates. Basil is the star, for sure, but its perfume works in balance with the other ingredients.