Basil Pesto Linguine w/ Parmesan Fricos

Italian food is brilliant in so many ways, but my favorite thing about it is its simplicity. The greatest Italian dishes I’ve had in my life – especially the ones I’ve had in Italy – are made with just a few, simple ingredients. When thoughtfully prepared and of the highest quality, you really only need a few ingredients to make something really special. This Basil Pesto Linguine w/ Parmesan Fricos is the best I’ve ever had, and its been in my family for generations.

In West Philadelphia, born and raised

My grandparents lived in a row home in West Philadelphia where the ice cream trucks came up and down the streets every day in the summer, kids threw their outgrown sneakers up onto the telephone wires and basil grew tall in pots on my grandmother’s front porch. The neighborhoods back then were a 50/50 split of Jewish and Italian – you were either one or the other. And the only real difference between them was what they were cooking.

Everyone’s door was always open, and flavors and recipes were generously shared and traded amongst neighbors. Although we have always considered this basil pesto sauce to be our grandmother’s, no doubt it likely originated in one of her neighbors’ kitchens and she – um – borrowed it and claimed it as her own.

What’s in this Basil Pesto Linguine

Basil, good extra virgin olive oil, quality parmesan and garlic. Maybe some pine nuts if you’re feeling frisky. It’s not rocket science. It’s just simple perfection.

I have reduced the amount of extra-virgin olive oil from what my grandmother used, so this basil pesto sauce is more of a paste. Brush it onto salmon, chicken or veggies before grilling. You could also mix it into butter or cream cheese for a flavorful spread on crostini. Tossed with hot pasta, this recipe will generously coat one pound. Feel free to add more olive oil to suit your taste.

This Basil Pesto Linguine w/ Parmesan Fricos has become part of the fabric of our lives. Pesto pasta was the first meal I cooked for my college roommates as a “grown-up”. “Pesto pasta” was among both of my children’s first words. I have vivid memories of them picking up little pieces of elbow macaroni coated in this bright green sauce between their tiny fingers as they sat in their high chairs.

And now, as the basil grows high in my garden as it once did on my grandmother’s porch, I make this pesto sauce in huge batches all summer long. It freezes beautifully, and also makes a lovely gift when jarred, tied with a bow and accompanied by a pound of fresh pasta. It couldn’t be simpler to make this flavorful, bright, earthy sauce. Make extra. Freeze it, gift it or keep it all to yourself. I know you’ll want to. Enjoy!

Basil Pesto Linguine w Parmesan Fricos

The best basil pesto sauce you'll ever have, cheesy "saucers"

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Pesto

• 2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp pine nuts
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Parmesan Frico

• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp flour

Instructions

 

• Puree all pesto ingredients in a food processor or blender. Toss with 1 lb. of cooked, drained pasta.
• To make the fricos, whisk cheese and flour together in a bowl. Warm an 8-inch nonstick pan over medium heat. Heap 3 Tbsp of the cheese mixture into the center of the pan and then quickly spread it out into a thin circle with the back of a spoon. The shape does not have to be exact.
• Cook 1-2 minutes until the edges start to brown. Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan.

Keyword pasta, vegetarian

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