When I lived in Paris, there was a little restaurant down
the road that served the most delicious creamy pesto with their pasta. I later
discovered that adding crème fraiche to pesto is a Genoese thing, and it’s
absolutely delicious because it mellows the strong flavours of the basil and
the garlic. Making your own pesto is so much easier than you might think, and
it’s really worth it because all the flavours are fresh and fabulous. For this
recipe, I’ve added ricotta rather than crème fraiche for a really luxurious
creamy sauce, but you could do either.
Ingredients
A handful of pine nuts
A small handful each of fresh pesto and oregano
A large pinch of coarse sea salt
A drizzle of olive oil
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
A couple of large spoonfuls of ricotta
8 oz of pasta
Serves 2
Start by getting your pasta boiling, because the pesto’s
so quick to make you can do it while the pasta cooks. One thing that will
really help is a pestle and mortar, but if you haven’t got one, you can
improvise with the bottom of a sturdy mug and a ceramic bowl. Pop the pine
nuts, fresh herbs (a mixture of basil and oregano makes for a really delicious
combination, but you can just use basil if it’s all you’ve got), the garlic,
the olive oil and the sea salt into the bowl or the mortar, and crush together
into a smooth-ish paste. A quick word on the garlic – don’t be tempted to use
too much, because the raw flavour is much stronger than when cooked, so go for
a small clove.
When the pasta is ready, drain it but keep a little bit
of the cooking water in with it – just a spoonful or two. Add the pesto and the
ricotta and stir through. To start with the pesto will clump together but if
you give it a good mixing then you’ll end up with a lovely creamy sauce. Serve
with a bit of fresh green salad and a cool glass of white wine.
