Basil Pesto Farfalle

Ingredients

• ½ cupspinach
• 2 cupsfresh basil
• 5 clovesgarlic
• ⅓ cuptoasted pine nuts
• ½ cuppecorino, grated⚠ Plus ½ cup parmigiano below; you can use all of one cheese if you prefer.
• ½ cupparmigiano-reggiano, grated⚠ 1 cup of cheese total with the pecorino.
• ½ cupextra virgin olive oil
• —water, to loosen⚠ Added a little at a time while blending — don't make it liquidy. Amount not stated.
• —salt⚠ To taste — amount not stated.
• 1 lbfarfalle (or any pasta)
• —pecorino or parmigiano, to finish⚠ Optional. Amount not stated.

Steps

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add ½ cup spinach and 2 cups fresh basil, cut the heat, and dunk them briefly to blanch (just a few seconds). ⏱ 11:47 watch
2. Lift everything out and plunge into a bowl of ice water to chill fast. Then gently wring out as much moisture as you can without bruising it. ⏱ 12:10 watch
3. Add the blanched spinach and basil to a blender with 5 garlic cloves, ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts, and ½ cup each of pecorino and parmigiano-reggiano. ⏱ 12:30 watch
4. Blend on low, adding a little water at a time to loosen so it blends easily (use the plunger as needed). Don't add too much — you don't want a watery sauce. ⏱ 12:40 watch
5. With the blender on high, stream in ½ cup extra virgin olive oil to emulsify. Season with salt to taste. ⏱ 13:00 watch
6. Cook 1 lb farfalle. In a large skillet, pour in about half the pesto, add the cooked farfalle, then add more pesto to fully coat. Toss well so every piece is covered. (You may have pesto left over.) ⏱ 14:58 watch
7. Ladle into a bowl and finish with a little pecorino and/or parmigiano. ⏱ 15:10 watch
8. NO BLENDER? Hand method: rough-chop 2 cups basil. Separately crush ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts (press with a heavy bowl/pan). Combine and rock-chop until fine. Finely chop 5 smashed garlic cloves with a pinch of salt and mix in. Chop in ½ cup cheese, then stir in ¼ cup olive oil followed by the rest, with salt to taste. ⏱ 13:16 watch