A brief but necessary tutorial of how to make the most delightful plate of pesto pasta you may ever have. Brought to you by my passionate obsession for green garlic, or garlic scapes.

I would say ditalini is required here, but I know it can be hard to find sometimes. So, substitutions I recommend are orzo, orrechetti, cavatelli, little shells, ect. Any pasta shape will WORK but the tiny shapes are great here because they create a really fun mouth feel (lol) with the crunchy green garlic garnish.

Wishbone Kitchen

Green Garlic Pesto Pasta

Total Time:25 mins
yields:4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 cup green garlic pesto linked above
  • 1 lb ditalini pasta
  • 1/4 cup chopped green garlic
  • 1/4 cup pecorino cheese freshly grated + more for garnish
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 of a lemon zest and juice
  • 1/4 cup diamond kosher salt for seasoning your pasta water
  • fresh cracked black pepper for garnish

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water, about 1/4 cup of diamond kosher salt. Boil the pasta about 2 minutes shy of the package instructions. RESERVE AT LEAST 1 CUP OF PASTA WATER. If you don’t do this step you might as well not make this dish sry. Drain the pasta and add it back to the same pot. Add the pesto, the butter and about 1/2 a cup of pasta water and stir. Add the pecorino, another splash of pasta water and continue to stir.
  2. As you stir, the pesto sauce should look almost soupy. The key to achieving a nice saucy consistency is adding a little more pasta water than you think you need, as the sauce will tighten up significantly as it sits. If you think you’ve added TOO much pasta water, throw some more pesto and pecorino in there and give it another stir.
  3. When I’m making pasta with a sauce like this, I spend a good 2-5 minutes standing over the stove adding butter, cheese and pasta water until I’m satisfied with the consistency, so be patient! If you run out of pasta water, you can sub with some piping hot tap water no problem.
  4. Stir in the zest and juice from 1/2 a lemon, (about 2 tbsp of juice). Taste for salt and add more accordingly. Serve and garnish with fresh chopped green garlic, a sprinkling of pecorino and fresh cracked black pepper.
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