Pasta al Pesto
Genovese
Pasta with Genoese basil pesto
Basil, pine nuts, garlic and two grated cheeses make a fragrant green sauce, tossed through pasta away from the heat.
Basil pesto, short pasta & pine nutsFresh basil,
a Genoese sauce.
Pasta al pesto genovese brings the basil sauce of Genoa to a plate of pasta. Pine nuts soften the garlic, while olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Sardinian pecorino give the sauce body and a salty finish. The pesto coats the pasta without being cooked in a pan.
In Liguria, pesto accompanies shapes such as trenette, trofie and broad pasta sheets. This page focuses on the sauce with pasta alone; potatoes and green beans belong to another familiar preparation, shown in our Trofie al pesto recipe. The home recipe here uses rigatoni, matching the short pasta pictured.
Explore by food: Pasta · Vegetables & cheese
Let’s make pasta al pesto genovese.
A small food processor makes this home pesto; keep the sauce cool and dress the pasta off the heat.
Four first-course portions; uses dried pasta and freshly made pesto.
What you’ll need
Pasta
- 320 gdried rigatoni
- 3 lwater, for cooking the pasta
- 2 tspfine salt, for the pasta water
Pesto
- 60 gbasil leaves, washed and thoroughly dried
- 30 gpine nuts, divided
- 1 small clovegarlic, peeled
- 50 gParmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated, divided
- 20 gPecorino Sardo, finely grated
- 80 mlextra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ tspcoarse sea salt
Trenette or linguine can replace the rigatoni at the same dried weight; follow their packet timing. This recipe has no potatoes or green beans. Do not return the dressed pasta to the heat.
How to make it
- 01
Prepare the pesto
Set aside 4 small basil leaves, 5 g pine nuts and 5 g Parmigiano for serving. In a small food processor, pulse the garlic, coarse salt and remaining pine nuts. Add the remaining basil and pulse in short bursts, stopping before the mixture warms.
- 02
Finish the sauce
Scrape into a large bowl. Stir in the remaining 45 g Parmigiano, the Pecorino Sardo and olive oil. The pesto should be a soft, coarse paste. Keep it away from direct heat.
- 03
Cook the pasta
Bring the 3 l water to a boil, add the fine salt and cook the rigatoni until al dente, following the packet timing. Before draining, reserve 250 ml of the cooking water.
- 04
Dress and serve
Stir 2 tbsp cooking water into the pesto. Add the drained pasta and toss, adding more reserved water a spoonful at a time until evenly coated. Divide among four plates and finish with the reserved basil, pine nuts and cheese.
More to discover…
PrimiTrofie al Pesto
Short twists of pasta carry basil pesto, with tender potatoes and green beans adding substance to this Ligurian first course.