Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add a little salt.
2. Pour the Pesto Princess Sundried Tomato Pesto into a small bowl. Scoop 30–40ml boiling pasta water from the pot and add it to the now empty pesto jar. Put the lid on and give it a good shake so that none of that delicious pesto flavour is wasted. Add the water to the pesto in the bowl.
3. Add 30ml extra virgin olive oil to the pesto mixture and give it all a good stir. Vegetable oil is fine too if that’s what you have on hand. You’ll notice the colour turns radiant red and you have a looser, pourable mixture that is now double the original amount from the jar.
4. Add your pasta to the pot – choose a flat shape like linguine or tagliatelle – and cook until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, fry your mushrooms in a little olive oil and season well.
5. Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the pasta water on the side.
6. Return the cooked, drained pasta to the pot over a gentle heat to keep things nice and hot. Pour over the diluted pesto and season well (we use Oryx Desert Salt & Pepper).
7. Give everything a good mix and, if needed, add some more of the pasta water and extra olive oil to coat the pasta evenly.

   

Serve in warmed pasta bowls with a garnish of cooked exotic mushrooms, rocket, plenty of grated Stanford Gruberg and De Grendel Op Die Berg Pinot Noir.