Pilato
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N°05 · italian · easy · 18 min · serves 4
Pesto Fusilli
Basil-bright Genoese pesto in eighteen minutes.
Ingredients
- Pilato Fusilli Pasta250g
- Fresh basil leaves — tight-packed80g
- Pine nuts30g
- Garlic1 clove
- Parmigiano Reggiano — grated, plus more to serve60g
- Extra-virgin olive oil120ml
- Saltto taste
Method
Toast the pine nuts
Dry-toast the pine nuts in a small pan over medium heat for three minutes until just golden. Do not walk away — they go from pale to burnt in seconds. Tip onto a plate to stop the cooking.
Blitz the pesto
In a food processor or mortar combine the basil, toasted pine nuts, garlic, parmesan and olive oil. Pulse — or pound — to a coarse, vivid paste. Season with salt to taste.
Boil the fusilli
Salt four litres of water heavily and boil the fusilli to al dente per the package, around twelve minutes. Save one cup of pasta water before draining.
Fold off heat
In a wide bowl combine the drained fusilli and the pesto. Splash in pasta water a tablespoon at a time and toss until every spiral is coated in glossy green. Shower with extra parmesan and serve.
Chef's note. Never cook pesto. The heat from the pasta is plenty. Cooked basil turns flat and grey — raw basil stays electric. If the bowl looks too thick, splash more pasta water. If too thin, more parmesan.
The free Pilato masala sits this one out. Genoese pesto is an act of basil-worship and nothing else should walk into the temple.