Pasta recipe for 4 people, takes only 15 mins; recipe has pasta, walnut, red pepper, parmesan, garlic clove, basil, extra virgin olive oil and mascarpone.
Walnut & red pepper pesto pasta
Course: Pasta
Servings
4
servings
Prep time
15 mins
Ingredients
- Red Pepper: 3 roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
- Garlic Clove: 1 small garlic clove, roughly chopped
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Parmesan: 25g parmesan, or a vegetarian alternative, plus extra to serve
- Pasta: 400g strozzapreti or casarecce pasta, or another short pasta shape
- Basil: large pack basil, plus a few leaves to serve
- Walnut: 100g walnut
- Mascarpone: 50g mascarpone
Directions
- Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a dry pan for a few mins. Add half the walnuts to the small bowl of a food processor or a hand chopper, along with the red peppers, Parmesan, garlic, basil, oil and some seasoning. Whizz to a paste, adding a splash of water from the pasta if it is a little dry.
- Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pan and set over a low heat. Add the pesto, mascarpone and 3-4 tbsp of the reserved pasta water, then stir until the mascarpone has melted, adding a splash more pasta water if the sauce needs thinning. To serve, crush the remaining walnuts in your hand and scatter over the pasta with a few more basil leaves and some extra Parmesan.
