Fettuccine with Pesto

One of my favorite meals in the summer is pasta, whether in a tomato sauce, alfredo sauce, or simply coated with herbs and oil, like this recipe.

Pesto is a great way to use your basil and parsley when it is lush and in full season. I like planting my herbs in pots where I can readily access them near my kitchen. 

You may also buy fresh herbs in bulk at the grocery store. You will need enough to equal 2 cups, lightly packed. 

If you don’t make your own pasta (and I have to ask you WHY not?) or simply do not have the extra time, I highly recommend De Cecco Semolina Pasta, which is a good alternative. 

More Pasta Recipes

Ingredients for Fettucine with Pesto

(See the full recipe at the bottom of this post.)

Homemade pesto is so easy to make and can easily be adapted to fit available ingredients. Do you have more parsley than basil? That’s okay. Just make sure you use 2 cups combined, lightly packed. Or simply use two cups of parsley. Or 2 cups of basil. I’ve even seen recipes that use mint and tarragon.

If you don’t have pine nuts in your cupboard, you may use slivered almonds, pecans, English walnuts, macadamia nuts, or even pistachios. See this amazing recipe for Pasta with Pistachio Pesto Here.

While I highly suggest roasting your own garlic, you may also substitute jarred minced garlic in it’s place. You’ll simply disregard the first recipe steps of roasting the garlic in oil and salt, and replace it with 3 tablespoons minced garlic.

Want to use linguine instead of fettuccine. Go ahead. Or even tagliatelle or spaghetti. Of course! It’s your dish and it’s your decision. It will be great! If motivated to make your own pasta, see my Homemade Pasta Recipe Here. 

Preheat oven to 375°F. Gather your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.

Using a fine-edged grater, grate the fresh parmesan. Set aside until the end of the recipe.

Prepare the Garlic and Pesto

Cut the tops for the garlic and wrap each in tinfoil, drizzling each head with 1 tablespoon olive oil and seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Roast in the preheated oven until softened, 45 minutes. Allow to cool.

For a Quick and Easy Adaptation of this Recipe, use canned minced garlic. Of course, baked garlic adds a wonderful taste dimension to this recipe, but jarred minced garlic also works. I’ve used both and both versions are quite yummy!

Squeeze the roasted garlic into a food processor.

Add pine nuts, fresh parsley and basil, and red pepper flakes. Process to make a paste. While machine is running, add 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Scrape pesto into a medium-sized prep bowl.

Prepare the Pasta

In a large pot, bring water to boil, adding a tablespoon of kosher salt to the water. Cook fettuccine to al dente. If you’re using fresh pasta, this will only take a few minutes. Otherwise, follow package directions for cooking.

Drain the pasta water, saving at least 1 cup of the pasta water for using in the dish. Add pesto to the pasta, carefully folding it in with pasta tongs until it has coated the pasta.

Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a little pasta water to the dish if it seems too dry.

Adding pasta water is a wonderful way to enhance your Italian sauces, whether a tomato sauce or a pasta dish such as this one. It will add flavored liquid to a dish, or it could also be used to help thicken a dish due to the starch in it.

Place pasta in a large serving bowl. Before serving, sprinkle with grated Parmesan as a garnish. This recipe will serve 4-6 people.

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