Pasta with Alfredo-Pesto Sauce

evelyn/athens's Note:

Pasta is great with Alfredo Sauce, right? Pasta is great with Pesto Sauce, right? Doesn't this recipe make sense? ;-)

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 cup fresh basil leaf
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or 1/3 cup walnuts
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 1/4 cups grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 lb capellini or 1 lb spaghettini, cooked until al dente
• minced basil

Directions:

1. Finely chop basil, pine nuts and garlic in processor.
2. Gradually add olive oil through feed tube and process until smooth; mix in ½ cup Parmesan.
3. Transfer to a small jar (can be made up to 4 days ahead – make on the weekend to enjoy a quick, mid-week meal. Pour enough olive oil on surface of pesto to inhibit exposure to air).
4. Bring cream to boil in medium saucepan; whisk in pesto.
5. Season to taste.
6. Combine pasta, sauce and remaining 3/4 cup Parmesan in large bowl.
7. Toss to coat evenly and serve sprinkled with some minced basil.
8. Note: If you want this 'saucier' you can add a little milk to wet the pasta.

Reviews

[smoke alarm jr]

Yummy.....yummmy!!!This chef will rate this underdog differently for this sauce is out of this world! I followed the directions to a tee but served over bow tie pasta. We all kept dipping into the sauce with bread pieces and this was before I had even finished cooking the pasta. If I was to serve the sauce with just bread sticks I may add a tablespoon or two of cream cheese to thicken it even more. Rich, creamy,comforting and delicious. Next time I will have a bottle of wine on hand to go with this meal!

[Cook+Princess]

Loved this! I reduced the calories by using only 1/2 a cup of cheese and adding a bit of salt to make up for the missing flavor. Fabulous!

[Chef #1262065]

Just made this for my younger twin brothers' birthday. We opted to eat in this year instead of going out to save some money (8 people really adds up as we all know). One likes pesto, one likes alfredo. So I ran it past them both if this would be alright and they decided to go for it. Am I ever glad they OK'd it! And so is the rest of my family. It's a very simple recipe, but tastes like (and has the texture of) something you would get at a restaurant. Paired it with shredded chicken, and it disappeared. I changed the serving size to 10-15 because i didn't know how much the family would be eating. I overestimated and now have a lot of sauce leftover-but am not afraid that it will go to waste. The little remaining after the meal went in the fridge, and I have to say, it makes a really tasty pasta salad.