Creamy Pesto and Pasta

Hello long-weekenders! There is something absolutely delightful about having Monday off. And this is the perfect meal to whip up for those long, becoming warm, weekends.

So, as I said previously, I have recently been on a trip to Italy. While there, I sampled some amazing carbs food, and generally enjoyed myself for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

One of my favourite places was a small takeaway pasta place in Venice (#1 on tripadvisor!) where there were a choice of 8 sauces, 2 freshly made pastas and some extras. I have a huge weakness for pesto, and so when I saw a pesto sauce on the menu, I knew I had to sample it. It was completely unexpected in texture – creamy, saucy and thick. And of course, utterly delicious.

Of course, I had to have a go at making my own. The sauce in Venice felt much thicker and richer than if I had just added cream, so I decided to go with good old cream cheese.

So, what I have created here isn’t exactly what I had in Venice, but it’s close, and more importantly pretty delicious! A new favourite meal covering the weekday trifecta – quick, tasty, good fpr lunch the next day.

Ingredients

• Enough pasta for 2
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 generous tbsp. pesto (I used homemade)
• 85ml vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• Parmesan, basil leaf, pine nuts, to serve

Method

Begin by cooking the pasta. Once that is on the go, heat some oil in a small saucepan. Stir in the pesto and vegetable stock and bring to a light boil.

When simmering gently, stir through small chunks of the cream cheese and whisk until combined.

Allow to cook through for a few minutes.

Pour into the cooked, drained pasta and stir to combine.

Pour that baby on!

*drools*

Top with a sprinkling of parmesan, some basil and some pine nuts. I also like to scatter a very small amount of dried chilli flakes for some kick.