The Secret Ingredient For Velvety Pesto Pasta

Pesto is a wildly flavorful condiment used to enhance all kinds of delicious meals, including baked chicken, homemade pizza, and fresh pasta. Surprisingly, you can make a perfectly creamy pasta sauce out of this basil-heavy mixture with one addition. Whether you make your own pesto or buy a pre-made version like Trader Joe's unique pesto made with red peppers and almonds, hot and starchy pasta water easily transforms it into a creamy pasta sauce.

Since pesto is primarily made of pine nuts, fresh basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, and olive oil, its consistency tends to run quite thick and oily. Adding residual water from freshly-cooked noodles loosens your pesto and helps it cling to the pasta better. Moreover, the fat from the nuts and olive oil blend with the starch in the cooking water. This gentle emulsification results in an extra creamy, velvety sauce.

To make this simple sauce at home, make sure to properly salt your pasta water prior to boiling your noodles. This ensures a supremely flavorful end result. Just before your boiling pasta reaches the al dente stage, remove one cup of the cooking water and set aside. Then, combine the drained pasta, a few scoops of pesto, and ¼ cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Mix together and add extra salt or reserved pasta water if necessary before enjoying.

To make an even creamier pesto sauce, when blending together your ingredients, add in a pour of heavy cream. Cream not only adds more liquid to the pesto, but gives this tasty condiment a more savory, well-rounded flavor. To take it a step further, the easiest way to upgrade store-bought pesto is by turning it into a rich cream sauce with sauteed onions, garlic, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese.

You can also leave out the basil and make Giada De Laurentiis' fresh alternative to heavy alfredo sauce: a luscious white pesto made with ingredients like walnuts, lemon zest,  and creamy ricotta. This version can also really benefit from the pasta water trick. Whether you use the cooking water or cream to thicken the sauce, it's easy to dress up your meal with additional toppings. 

Add a sprinkle of toasted nuts and extra parmesan cheese to your noodles to echo the flavors of the pesto, or some red pepper flakes for a spicy bite. For a refreshing twist, incorporate fresh ingredients like baby spinach, arugula, or cherry tomatoes. Enjoy this flavorful pasta as a main course, or serve it with a variety of protein options like grilled shrimp or roast chicken for more sustenance.