Delicious Homemade Pesto Pasta
Homemade pesto pasta made fresh in a pasta extruder, with basil pesto kneaded into the dough and topped with a feta-walnut pesto sauce. A green-on-green dish with double-dose basil flavor.
YIELD
16 servingsPREP
60 minCOOK
15 minREADY
105 minThis is a pesto-on-pesto play that doubles down on basil and garlic in the most satisfying way. Basil pesto goes directly into the pasta dough so the noodles bake green flavor right into the bite, and the finishing sauce piles on more pesto-style flavor with feta and walnuts for body.
A pasta extruder makes this go fast, but you can absolutely make the dough by hand and roll it through a manual pasta machine. The extruder gives you shapes (penne, rigatoni, fusilli) you can’t easily cut by hand. Either way, the dough chemistry is the same.
Room-temperature ingredients are the make-or-break detail. Cold eggs or cold pesto cause the dough to seize and crumble in the extruder, refusing to come together. Pull the eggs and pesto out an hour before mixing.
Discarding the first 2 to 3 inches of extruded pasta isn’t waste. The first push out of the die is dry, dense, and unevenly mixed. Toss it back into the hopper or compost it.
The sauce uses feta cheese instead of the traditional Parmesan and walnuts instead of pine nuts. Feta brings a brighter, briny tang and walnuts taste earthier (and cost a fraction of pine nuts). Both are classic Mediterranean swaps used in Greek-influenced pesto.
Pro Tips
- Process the sauce just until the feta is blended in. Over-processing turns the sauce paste-thick and emulsifies it past the cream consistency you want.
- Drying fresh pasta on a wire rack for 30 minutes firms up the surface and prevents sticking when boiling.
- Cook fresh pasta in salty boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes only. It cooks much faster than dried.
- Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining. The starchy water helps loosen and emulsify the pesto sauce on the noodles.
Variations
- Skip the extruder and use store-bought fresh pasta. The double-pesto sauce still shines.
- Swap walnuts for pine nuts and feta for grated Pecorino Romano for the most traditional Genovese profile.
- Add 1 teaspoon lemon zest to the sauce for brightness, or a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat.
Ingredients
Directions
For The Pasta:
Following the instructions given in your owner’s manual, prepare and set up the pasta machine with an extruder die to make the desired shape of pasta.
All ingredients must be at room temperature. Place the liquid ingredients in a glass measuring cup. If less than ¾ cup, add some water to make up the balance. Add the dry ingredients to the pasta machine mixing bowl. Switch the pasta machine on. Slowly pour the liquid ingredients through the feed tube.
Mix for approximately 3 minutes, or until the dough appears to be coming together in soft pea-sized crumbs. Following the instructions given in your owner’s manual, begin to extrude the dough.
Cut off the first 2 to 3 inches extruded and discard. As the pasta begins to come out, gently move it away from the machine. Cut with a sharp paring knife or scissors at desired lengths.
Place extruded pasta on a wire rack or on a clean kitchen cloth. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before cooking, or store for later use.
For The Pesto Sauce:
Put the garlic, basil leaves, and olive oil in a blender jar or food processor bowl. Process until smooth.
Add the feta cheese and walnuts and process just until the cheese is blended into the mixture.
The sauce should have the same consistency as heavy cream. If too thick, add additional oil or water, a tablespoon at a time.
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