Description
Beef Pesto Pasta is a super quick recipe that will get dinner sorted in 20 minutes. Cheesy, creamy and beefy, this dish takes minimal effort.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 cups basil leaves (loosely packed, leaves trimmed from stems)
- 1/2 cup pistachio nuts
- 2–3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 500 grams beef (cut into stir fry long thin strips)
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
- 500 grams penne pasta
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
- pecorino romano cheese (for garnish)
- basil leaves (for garnish)
Instructions
- Cook beef: add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large saute pan, turn heat to high, add beef strips, salt and pepper. Cook till the beef has browned on all sides, using a silicon turner to help move the meat around in the pan.
- Make pesto: add basil leaves, pistachio nuts, garlic, pecorino romano cheese to the bowl of a food processor. Blitz to combine for about 15 seconds and scrap the insides of the bowl down with a spatula once done. Pour in the olive oil and then continue to blitz. Taste the pesto, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and add the 2nd tablespoon as needed. Blitz till consistently combined then transfer combined pesto to a small bowl.
- Cook pasta: read and follow the instructions on the packet to cook the pasta in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water. Moments before it is done, use a heatproof jug to scoop out 1 to 2 cups of the water. Then drain the pasta into the sink using a colander and discard the remaining pasta water.
- Combine: add the cooked drained pasta to a large saute pan, add in the cooked beef and dollop in the pesto. Pour in 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water. Then use a wooden spoon to toss the pasta, pesto, pasta water and beef till it is consistently combined.
- Garnish: generously garnish the top of the combined steak and pesto pasta with grated pecorino romano, cracked black pepper and basil leaves. Provide utensils for serving.
Notes
Pecorino romano is a sweet cheese made from sheep’s milk. You can substitute parmesan cheese to the equivalent amount if you wish. Lemon juice can be freshly squeezed or bottled. Reserved pasta water: I usually take out 1 to 2 cups but for the recipe we only need to add 1/2 cup.
- Prep Time: PT5M
- Cook Time: PT15M
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian, Western
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 819 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 312 mg
- Fat: 34 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 21 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 104 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 25 g
- Cholesterol: 13 mg
Keywords: beef pesto pasta, steak pesto pasta, dinner, italian, quick meal