Pesto pasta is delicious, right? But what if we move away from the classic, and try something new? Well, luckily for you, I already did the testing, and I can assure the result will delight you. So, ready to try something new? If so, let’s get this bacon pasta pesto party started.
What to expect: a dance of flavours in your mouth, from the bacon to the bright sundried tomatoes pesto, with a touch of creaminess and a little crunch. Are you intrigued?
When you think of pesto pasta, you likely imagine that delicious green goodness made of basil and other fresh ingredients. Well that’s right, but there are many other pesto sauces to try.
Have you tried a red pesto, or a sundried tomato pesto? There’s even white pesto (here’s our recipe).
The beauty of these other pesto is that you can get a little more creative rather than sticking to the classic recipes. For example, you can add meat.
Well, that depends on the type of pesto you are using.
For green pesto, I’d say keep it simple, stick to the classic recipe, and don’t use meat.
For white pesto, bacon or ham really pair well with the other ingredients.
For red pesto, you can either use bacon or even minced beef.
Pesto and Italy are like ice cream and cone, inseparable. And while that sounds really cheesy, that’s true. Let’s look at how us Italians use this delicious sauce.
I am pretty sure I could keep going, but that’s enough.
The number one pesto in Italy is by far the most iconic one, the green basil pesto, which we call Pesto alla Genovese. That was born in Liguria, and is paired with trofie for a classic plate of pasta, or fresh gnocchi. Italians also like to enjoy it in panini, or to dress Summer pasta salads.
I am sure by now, you probably know that Italians like to pair everything, not only their shoes and hand bags, or their tie and handkerchief but also their pasta and pesto.
So here are the preferred pasta shapes to go with the four main pesto types:
Basil pesto: trofie, gnocchi, fusilli
Turnip tops pesto: orecchiette
Red pesto: rigatoni, fusilloni, penne, or even spaghetti
White pesto: linguine, trenette (a Ligurian long shaped pasta), trofie or mandilli (square pieces of fresh pasta).
If you want to stock up on delicious Italian pesto jars, that come from Italy to your door, whenever you need them, have a look at our range of Belmorso Pesto Sauces (here).
Ready to make it? Follow the instructions on screen, or print out the recipe card, and let’s start cooking.
That’s entirely a question of preference. Personally, I prefer my pesto pasta warm, so I can really taste those flavours. However, pesto is an excellent ingredient to add to Summer pasta salads. So the most suitable answer is that you can enjoy pesto pasta both ways – hot and cold.
I like to use it within a week, but depending on the type, it can even go up to two weeks. The secret is to keep it refrigerated and handle it with a clean teaspoon, every time you take some.
Italian Ham & Cheese Pie With Potatoes This Italian ham and cheese pie with potatoes…
Raffiuoli Xmas Cookies If you have been wanting to try an easy Italian Christmas cookies…
Neapolitan Pizza Rolls For The Holidays It's been a while since we brought you a…
Baked Pumpkin Rice After a delicious baked pumpkin gnocchi, it's now the turn for a…
Baked Pumpkin Gnocchi With Sausage The name alone makes my mouth water. Baked pumpkin gnocchi…
Italian Sbrisolona Cake (Crumble Cake) Have you ever made or tried the Sbrisolona cake from…