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White Pesto Pasta

Grey bowl of spaghetti in a white sauce surrounded by a glass of water and lemon halves.
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This quick and easy White Pesto Pasta recipe is creamy, luxurious and only needs a handful of basic ingredients - perfect for getting dinner on the table in just 15 minutes!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 200g spaghetti
  • 50g walnuts
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 75g cream cheese (or ricotta)
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 25g parmesan
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • olive oil, to serve
  • black pepper, to serve

Instructions

  1. Start by boiling the spaghetti.
  2. Chop the walnuts, mince the garlic and finely grate the parmesan.
  3. In a bowl stir together the walnuts, garlic, oregano, cream cheese, lemon juice and zest and a pinch of salt. Alternatively pound them in a mortar and pestle, or blitz in a food processor.
  4. Drain the pasta reserving some pasta water.
  5. Add the pasta back to the pan and stir through the pesto along with a splash of pasta water.
  6. Plate up with lots more grated parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and some cracked black pepper.

Notes

You can make this pesto in the food processor, using a mortar and pestle or just using a sharp knife - each method will produce a different texture so it depends on what you find easiest and what you're aiming for in the final dish. The food processor will make a smooth, uniform sauce, the mortar and pestle will make a smooth sauce with a bit more texture, or if you simply chop / grate all the ingredients up very small and mix them into the cream cheese, you'll end up with a roughly textured sauce.

Find it online: https://desertislanddishes.co/white-pesto-pasta/