Adam Liaw's fettuccine with spring green pesto

Name: Adam Liaw's fettuccine with spring green pesto
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Contemporary
Ingredients: 500g dried fettuccine; ¼ cup olive oil; ¼ cup parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve; lemon wedges, to serve; black pepper, to season

Adam Liaw

October 11, 2022

easyTime:< 30 minsServes:4

Spring greens are the young leaves of a variety of different vegetables. There's no hard and fast definition, so just use whatever is at hand.

Ingredients

500g dried fettuccine
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
lemon wedges, to serve
black pepper, to season

Spring green pesto

120g mixed baby spinach and rocket leaves, or other spring greens
1 cup parsley
1 cup basil leaves
2 garlic cloves
½ cup toasted almonds
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
juice of ½ lemon
½ cup olive oil, plus extra

Method

1. For the pesto, combine the leaves, herbs, garlic, almonds, parmesan and lemon juice in a food processor. Pulse to create a coarse paste, then add the olive oil a little at a time, continuing to blend until you have a paste that's mostly smooth, with just a little texture from the nuts and leaves.
2. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water, testing the texture from 2 minutes before the time printed on the packet. When cooked to your liking, drain the pasta but reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water. Return the drained pasta to the pot and add the extra olive oil and cheese and as much of the pesto as you like. Stir to coat, adding as much of the pasta water as needed to create a creamy sauce. Serve with extra parmesan, lemon wedges and a grind of black pepper.
Adam's tip: Pesto made in a mortar and pestle and pesto made in a food processor are two different things. But don't believe people who say you have to use a mortar and pestle. It's just a matter of preference.
Also try Adam Liaw's creamy pesto prawns