Pasta with ready-made pesto seems like the easiest thing to cook, but you will not make the most of it if you forget a few simple tips! 

In our short article on “The Art Of Cooking Pasta”, we listed a few principles that need to be applied when cooking pasta. Of key importance are the ratio of cooking water to pasta and respecting cooking time. And remember to add coarse salt to the cooking water!

Add cooking water

Just before draining the pasta, keep a little cup of the cooking water on the side. You can then pour the drained pasta in a bowl and toss with the pesto and the cooking water.  Adding cooking water will thin out the pesto so it coats everything nicely and creates a pesto sauce that coats every bit of pasta. The starch in the cooking water emulsifies with the pesto, which will thicken the sauce and ensure better adherence. Use about 1 cup of cooking water for 400g pasta.

It’s better to toss the pasta in a bowl rather than in the cooking pot because basil doesn’t like heat and will lose its aromas and green color if it’s in contact with high heat. For the same reason, it’s better not to reheat pesto pasta.

Which pasta is best?

You may use any pasta you fancy. Any good pasta properly dressed with a good pesto will make a great combination. However, pasta with twirls or large surface, such as gemelli or fusilli, are not generally preferred as the pesto will be more difficult to distribute evenly. Favorites with basil pesto are typically thin and long pastas like linguine or spaghetti, but smaller ones such as penne or caserecce are also a good fit.

In Nonna’s Organic Pantry