Rosso Pesto

Sun-dried tomato pesto brings life to your pasta with a vibrant, earthy flavour. This pesto goes well with a light creamy ricotta and spinach leaves. From the land of Sicily, this pesto can also be used to compliment meats like chicken and fish or used as a spread for your sandwiches. Filling the pasta shells with ricotta brings out the best of the ricotta and the pesto. This duo is truly mouth-watering and should most definitely be tried!

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 cup sun-dried Tomatoes

¼ cup Walnuts

⅓ cup Basil

⅓ cup Parmesan

4 Garlic cloves

1 tsp Salt

¼ cup extra Virgin olive oil

⅓ cup Cream

⅓ cup Pasta water

375g ricotta cheese

⅓ cup Spinach

½ tsp Onion salt

1 tsp Garlic salt

100g xl Shells

Method

Step 1

Add water generously to a deep bottom pot. Place on high heat. Once the water boils, add salt and pasta. Cook for 7-10 minutes or till the pasta is al dente. Then drain the pasta and dip the pasta in cold water.

Step 2

Add sundried tomatoes, basil, garlic cloves, walnuts, salt, parmesan and extra virgin olive in a blender. Blend till smooth.

Step 3

Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a pan and place on medium heat. Once hot, add pesto rosso puree and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add cream and pasta water reserve. Mix well and cook till the oil separates.

Step 4

Add ricotta, spinach, onion, and garlic to a bowl. Mix well. In piping, add the filling. Then pipe into the pasta shells.

Step 5- Assembly

Add the 8-9 shells to a bowl. Drizzle 4-5 tbsp of the pesto rosso on the shells. Sprinkle parmesan and basil leaves and serve.

Tips

1. Always salt your water before adding pasta to it.

2. You can replace walnuts with almonds or pinenuts.

3. When cooking the pesto rosso puree, ensure not to leave it on high heat for too long.

4. If you're not using smooth ricotta, beat the ricotta with a hand beater on medium till smooth before adding spinach.

5. If you can't find xl shells, just use normal size shells and serve with a dollop of spinach ricotta.