Italian cooking is simple for Victoria Sande of Saxonburg, PA. She can’t believe anyone is intimidated by the thought of making homemade pasta; for her, pasta is like fast food. She shares her traditional family recipes, passed down from generations, with TABLE Magazine readers to encourage them to try cooking at home.
Creamy and dreamy, this recipe for Creamy Pesto Sauce delights the palate. It’s a great first course for a seafood dinner or a meal in and of itself. You could even use the sauce as a dipper for different appetizers. The possibilities are truly endless once you get the basics down.
Creamy Pesto Sauce Recipe
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE PESTO:
2 cups basil leaves
1 garlic clove
1 tsp salt
½ cup walnuts
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon
FOR THE CREAM SAUCE:
3 tbsp butter
2 cups milk
1 tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in a small amount of milk
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Pasta of choice
INSTRUCTIONS
FOR THE PESTO:
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the olive oil and lemon juice while blending.
FOR THE CREAM SAUCE:
- Melt butter in a skillet.
- Add milk and milk-cornstarch mixture and stir until warm.
- Add cheese, and once it is melted, add pesto.
- Stir and keep warm until the pasta has been cooked. Add pasta directly to the skillet to coat in sauce.
Check out the rest of Victoria Sande’s pasta recipes!
Recipe by Victoria Sande / Photography by Dave Bryce / Styling by Anna Franklin
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