Basil Pesto Pasta
I and my son love to eat all types of pasta, whether it is made with white, red or green sauce. But among all types, I feel the most healthy choice is pesto sauce pasta because it is loaded with several healthy ingredients such as basils, nuts, olive oil, and fresh vegetables.
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sliced Green bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced Yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced onion
1/4 cup zucchini
100 gm Italian basil
15 cloves garlic
2 dry red chilis (I crushed it to make chili flakes and the amount can be changed as per your taste)
1/2 slice lemon
Italian spice mix(Thyme and Oregano) as per your taste
7-8 crush black peppers(amount can be changed as per your taste)
4 piece walnuts
4 piece almonds
1/3 cup olive oil
Parmesan cheese(as per your taste)
Preparation method:
Spaghetti Pasta
Take a container, add 3/4 water, salt to taste and 1 small teaspoon of oil to it.
Bring water to boiling and add spaghetti pasta to it. (You can use any type of pasta as per your choice)
Usually, pasta cooks in 7-10 mins, but please keep on checking in between for al-dente texture.
Once it is done, drain it, wash with cold water to stop additional cooking and toss it with olive oil so that it doesn’t stick with each other. (If your sauce and veggies are cooked and pasta is ready to be added, then cold water wash is not required.)
While draining, save a little bit of pasta water for final preparation.
Pesto sauce recipe
While Pasta is boiling, start preparation for Basil pesto sauce. Take a grinder bowl, add walnuts, almonds, 12 cloves of garlic to it and grind it.
Then add basil, pepper powder, Italian spice mix, parmesan cheese, salt, lemon, olive oil to a bowl and grind it. If required, add 2-3 teaspoon of pasta water to make a smooth paste.
Final Mix
Put 3 teaspoons of olive oil in a pan, add chili flakes and 4 cloves of chopped garlic to it. Stir for few mins. (Make sure that garlic doesn’t get burned).
Then, add onions, stir it till it gets translucent. Next, put all three bell peppers, a pinch of salt, stir it well and cover the pan for 3 mins to let it cook.
Add zucchini and pesto sauce and let it cook for 3 min. Vegetables should be half done and not completely cook.
Once veggies are cooked, add boiled pasta to the above mixture, mix it well and your Pesto Pasta is ready to eat.
