Basil Pesto Flavored Pasta with a Brown Butter Walnut Sauce

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This colorful and flavorful pasta is a combination of three posts.  Kind of a "if you can make dish  A and then If you can Make dish B, once you have C mastered, Dish D is easy!" recipe.

In the winter I decided to make cooking scratch Italian Recipes a habit.  Since then, simple ingredients all cooked so their flavors shined has changed the way I cook and look at food.  Making fresh pasta from scratch was one of those techniques I learned and became pretty good at.

You can find my recipe and LOTS of photos showing how to make your own Fresh Egg Pasta by clicking the photo or the blue letters.  Honestly, first time you try it does take a while.  But each time you get faster and better at it.  I can make my pasta now in about 20 minutes.  AND YES, it does taste different and BETTER.

Fresh made pasta also absorbs a sauce instead of letting the sauce coat.  If you have ever had a bowl of pasta with a pool of sauce in the bottom you know what I am talking about.  Fresh made pasta mixes with the sauces and absorbs, plumping the egg noodles up.  For this pasta I used a Walnut Brown Butter Sage Sauce that is simply wonderful.  the walnuts are simmered and softened in the butter, Parmesan cheese is added at the last minute giving the pasta a nutty sweet butter cheesy taste.

All that's left is to have fresh made pesto available.

I have been adding a little mint to my fresh made pesto.  I always try to make three or four jars worth whenever I make some.  Same amount of work, but then I have Fresh Mint Basil Pesto whenever I want to make something... usually those four jars last me a couple three weeks.

I used my last jar for this recipe.  pesto is made from herbs (Basil and in this case, a little mint), Garlic, Pine nuts, a little lemon and lots of Parmesan Cheese.

Sounds perfect to flavor the pasta.

There are a couple of ways to make this dish...

Easiest would be to Make Fresh Pasta (or use dry pasta if you prefer).
Then Make Fresh Mint Pesto (or store bought jarred if you prefer).
Then Make Brown Butter Sage Walnut Sauce  (Hmmmm... Can't seem to recall any store bought sauce like this, but fresh made is EASY!)...

Combine everything, serve warm and garnish with a little more Parmesan Cheese and fresh ribbons of Basil.

Me, I went just a little bit more complicated (but not much).

First, I made the Pasta.  But as I was mixing, I added the Pesto.  Mixed well.  The sauce was a little thicker with the ground nuts in the pesto, but it all came together just fine.  Made that beautiful Emerald colored pasta.

Then just repeat the directions above... Made the brown butter sauce, mixed with the fresh pasta and served HOT with a garnish of Parmesan Cheese and Ribbons of Basil!

Thick chewy LOADED with flavor and a wonderful "no Meat Monday" meal!  It all sounds complicated, but if you plan ahead and have the pesto ready, the sauce and pasta is cooked at the same time... This really is about a 30 minute meal.

Enjoy indeed!

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So,  I am pleased to list this as one of my Growing list of  "52 Authentic Italian Recipes"!!!

Well over 52 recipes actually as I just can't stop. The world's most popular cuisine, authentic, natural, organic, Farm to Table... the Italians started, perfected or embraced it before it became a fad. This page is a guide to Italian Cooking... For the home cook!  So, Cin Cin (toast) and Buon Appetito (Enjoy your Meal) to you all and let's Cook authentic Italian!

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