Sunday, June 12, 2011

Another Glorious Pasta; Green Olive-Almond Pesto

Another delicious pasta from "The Glorious Pasta of Italy," by Domenica Marchetti. This is not your traditional Pesto at all. It's a vibrant combination of green olives, almonds, parsley and Asiago cheese. All of which mesh wonderfully; making a light and refreshing sauce.  

Not only does this sauce taste great it's also really easy to make.  Everything goes into the food processor and you are ready eat in no time. Perfect for a weeknight meal or as a prelude to a meat course. You really can't go wrong with this one. 



Green Olive-Almond Pesto with Asiago Cheese
(adapted from: Glorious Pasta of Italy)
  • 1 pound uncooked pasta
  • 2 cups pitted green olives
  • 1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds
  • 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • freshly ground black pepper & salt to taste
  • 1 large garlic clove, chopped
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 cup grated Asiago cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserving 1 cup of cooking water.
Place olives, sliced almonds, flat-leaf parsley leaves, black pepper, salt and garlic in a food processor; pulse 3 until coarsely chopped. With processor on, add olive oil and vinegar continue processing until mixture is a course paste.  Scoop the pesto into a large serving bowl. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper.

Stir enough of the cooking water into the pesto in the bowl to create a sauce. Transfer the pasta tot he bowl and gently toss the pasta and sauce to combine. Add a spalsh or two of cooking water as necessary to loosen the sauce.

Sprinkle half the Asiago into the pass and toss again.  Serve immediately with remaining cheese.

**Submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights being held over at Pictures of All My Princesses**

13 comments:

  1. what an amazing combination - I would never have thought to use almonds in a pasta dish :)

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  2. Green olives and asiago are 2 of my favorites so I am loving this pasta dish already!

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  3. This pasta recipe looks delicious and you seem to be a great cook. So happy to stop by at your blog and wish to visit here again! Do visit mine as well.

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  4. This looks like a yummy pasta dish-perfect for Meatless Monday! Thanks for sharing :)

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  5. Thanks so much for the shout-out. I'm so glad you like the green olive-almond pesto. I had not made it in awhile, and then a friend made it for my book party yesterday. It was a crowd favorite! Cheers!

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  6. I always find myself intrigued by new pesto combinations and this one looks fabulous! The intense flavor of green olives must come through so beautifully!

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  7. So while I don't like olives much...my husband LOVES them. I can't wait to make this for him. He'll float up to heaven. Thank you for sharing such a delightful recipe. I hope you are having a wonderful evening. Hugs from Austin!

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  8. I am drooling! There was a time when I only knew of ONE pesto, now I find myself looking out for different versions. This one looks fantastic and I can't wait to try it out. I'm off to find green olives (I usually favor black ones), the rest are staples in my fridge & pantry. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

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  9. Oh, man, does this ever look GOOD! This one's going on my "make soon!" list right now. I love these flavor combinations. Thanks!

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  10. looks amazing! Don't know how I missed this from last week, but glad I caught it at PPN!

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  11. I love both Asiago cheese and green olives so I am sure that I will love this pasta! Good one!

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  12. I love pestos that experiment with flavours - this looks really tasty

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  13. I love pestos, but have yet to make one with olives - this one sounds a bit like tapenade - another nice sauce to keep around for quick dinners.

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