Wild Garlic Pesto Pasta (Print View)
Fresh spring pasta tossed with vibrant wild garlic pesto, pine nuts, and Parmesan for a quick Italian meal.
# What You Need:
→ Wild Garlic Pesto
01 - 2.6 oz wild garlic leaves, rinsed and patted dry
02 - 1.8 oz toasted pine nuts or walnuts
03 - 1.8 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
04 - 1 garlic clove
05 - 3.4 fl oz extra virgin olive oil
06 - Juice of ½ lemon
07 - Salt and black pepper, to taste
→ Pasta
08 - 14.1 oz dried spaghetti, linguine, or penne
09 - Salt, for pasta water
→ Optional Garnish
10 - Extra grated Parmesan
11 - Freshly cracked black pepper
# How-To Steps:
01 - Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the starchy pasta water before draining through a colander.
02 - While the pasta cooks, place the wild garlic leaves, toasted pine nuts, grated Parmesan, and garlic clove into a food processor. Pulse several times until the ingredients are coarsely chopped and combined.
03 - With the food processor running continuously, slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil through the feed tube. Continue processing until a smooth, vibrant green paste forms. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
04 - Transfer the drained pasta back to the pot or a large serving bowl. Add the wild garlic pesto and toss thoroughly to coat every strand. Splash in small amounts of the reserved pasta water as needed to achieve a silky, glossy sauce that clings to the pasta.
05 - Divide among serving bowls immediately. Finish with an extra shower of grated Parmesan and a generous crack of black pepper, if desired.
# Expert Hints:
01 -
- Wild garlic transforms a simple pantry dinner into something that tastes like you foraged through an Italian hillside.
- The whole thing comes together in the time it takes your pasta water to boil, which means almost zero planning required.
02 -
- Wild garlic season is maddeningly short, usually just a few weeks in early spring, so freeze extra leaves in olive oil in ice cube trays if you find a large patch.
- Adding the lemon juice at the very end rather than blending it from the start preserves the bright green color dramatically.
03 -
- Toast your nuts in a dry pan just until fragrant and golden, let them cool completely before blending, because warm nuts turn the pesto gummy and paste-like.
- Save a tablespoon of the starchy pasta water and mix it into any leftover pesto before refrigerating, it helps the pesto reconstitute beautifully the next day.