Currently I somewhat feel like a prisoner in my own home. With the windows and glass doors all covered up, my heart feels like it’s having some abnormal palpitations and there’s definitely some anxiety settling in. The house is being painted, and so it makes sense for everything to be covered for protection; however, it still freaks me out when I look outside and see nothing but some white light in place of my backyard.
In order to occupy myself while also being productive, I decided to make some Fettuccine Pesto Pasta for dinner. A few months ago I made some delicious Basil Pesto and promised a pasta recipe to follow up on it, but I got distracted by other recipes I wanted to play with. Yesterday night I found some Spinach Egg Fettuccine nests in my cupboard and thought to myself, “Hey! Pesto Fettuccine! Why don’t I make that?” This was all after I strategically placed them on my kitchen counter and put them through a quick photoshoot of course. They are very photogenic! Wouldn’t you agree?
Okay, so growing up my parents often took my sister and I out to this restaurant called By-The-Bucket. It had the best spread for bread, which was free may I add. Their pesto fettuccine pasta was also bomb (as in really, really, really, really good). As years have gone by, we still go to By-The-Bucket for special occasions, but their food just hasn’t been as tasty as it had been back when we were kids. I’ve also discovered that pasta is extremely easy to make. Remember how I like recipes that are flexible and have room for error? Yeah, this one is one of those, and so there really isn’t much reason to pay 10-15 dollars for a plate of it when it’ll cost me less to make an entire pot that’ll feed a family of six.
Ingredients:
- 2 servings of pesto (recipe on my Basil Pesto page – double the recipe)
- 1/3-1/2 cup jarred sun dried tomatoes
- 3 cups spinach
- 20 white mushrooms sliced
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- shredded parmesan cheese
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- About 3 of the Fettuccine nests
- Optional: 1 cup of canned artichoke hearts or broccoli florets
Instructions:
- Make the pesto: Basil Pesto
- Bring the water to a boil with about a tablespoon of oil and some salt. Add the pasta and boil it for 8-10 minutes until cooked, stir occasionally to keep the pasta from sticking. Test the pasta to make sure it’s cooked the way you like it and then drain.
- In a large pan or wok, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat and sauté the garlic. Cook the mushrooms until they’re slightly browned (about 2 minutes), and then add the sun dried tomatoes. Stir over medium heat until the mushrooms have shrunken and then add the spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted. Lower the heat, add the pasta and pesto (add a little pesto at a time and taste before adding more). Toss everything together so that it’s well mixed, add more pesto if desired. Serve on individual plates, sprinkle some shredded parmesan cheese on top, and enjoy!
This was probably the first time when one of my dishes had absolutely no leftovers. My family devoured every last noodle, which is amazing considering how picky and different all of their taste buds are. Could I really blame them for scarfing this dish down, though? The creamy basil flavor from the pesto combined with tart sun dried tomatoes, juicy veggies, and al dente noodles make this dish irresistible. I dare you to give it a try!
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