Recipe Review : Trenette al Pesto (that pasta from Luca)

First time making Trenette al Pesto

I love pasta, any kind of pasta.
Although, I only every make the classic spaghetti and meatballs. 
And my sisters like me making it for them because they are lazy and somehow have the ability to burn water. 
I wanted to do something I am used to but with different at the same time. And there was something I had an itch to make (and also my sisters begged me to make it). If you have watched the 2021 Disney movie "Luca" you would understand the question you may have asked yourself.
"What did that pasta taste like?"

So that is what I did. I made that pasta, Trenette al Pesto. It is not prefect, but I think it could have been worse. The hardest part was getting the right ingredients.

• Russet potatoes
• Lemons
• Pine nuts
• Fettuccine
• Green beans
• Parmesan cheese
• Basil leaves

All other ingredients I had available on the kitchen shelves such as olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic.

It took bribing my older sister with food to drive me to H.E.B, the bribing was the easiest part. But then there was money. I had calculated to the last cent on how much all the ingredients would cost. Forty-five dollars was my limit. If it went over, I would have to abandon this idea and instead do the pasta salad my mother was planning to make. But in the end I feel like the universe was at my side because I only needed to pay thirty-one dollars.

YAY!!!!

But then again I could not get them all at the same time. Sadly, H.E.B did not have basil leaves. I was quite upset already. My family does happen to grow basil herbs, but the bugs got to them before I could. So it was off to Walmart and more snack bribing. Surprisingly, it only cost me four dollars.

The fun part came with preparing the pesto sauce.

But before you start I recommend getting a big enough pot, half way filled with water and a spoon of salt. Setting it in the stove on high heat, it will perfectly hot to add the fettuccine, two skinned and chopped russet potatoes and a bowls worth of green beans.

As the water heats up on the stove, you can focus on chopping the basil leaves finely. And I have to say, I have forgotten what basil had smelled like. I took a deep breath of the basil aroma, and it cleared my nose instantly. It felt and smelled a lot similar to when you inhale peppermint. The smell of basil leaves is so strong, basically herby. After chopping, I needed to toast the pine nuts. Even that smelled good, similar to popcorn (minus the butter).

To make the pesto sauce you will need one teaspoon of salt and pepper (I used the H.E.B black pepper grinder), lemon zest, chopped basil leaves, 1/2 Parmesan cheese and 1/3 toasted pine nuts and lastly drizzling olive oil as you blend until it is to your liking.

Then, once completed, TASTE TEST THE PESTO.

You would taste the herby ness of the basil, Parmesan and a hint of nuttiness.

Once done, you can leave it in the blender or place the pesto into a container and add the fettuccine, potatoes and green beans to the now boiling water for twelve minutes.

AND perhaps you have noticed that I left out one little ingredient out. Because I sure did not until it was too late. After blending the pesto and adding it to the fettuccine, I then realized I had forgotten to add a clove of garlic.

Remember to check you added all the necessary ingredients before you think you are finished!!!!!

But like I mentioned before, I did not notice until it was too late.

Done the twelve minutes have passed, you will need to thoroughly drain the water from the pot imminently, leaving it for too long with make the fettuccine soggy.

I recommend getting some help with this part. It is HOT WATER, so be careful.

After all the hot water has been drained, you can finally add the basil pesto into the pot. Use a sturdy cooking spoon to stir and flip the fettuccine to coat the pesto evenly.

On this part is actually when I realized I had forgotten to add the clove of garlic to the pesto, but it was already in the pot and I could not turn back time and stop it. But luckily I had bought prepaid basil pesto just in case I messed up on the homemade pesto too severely. I mixed just a bit of the premade pesto to the fettuccine.

Then it was done. 

And the Trenette al Pesto smelled absolutely wonderful.

I taste tested the pasta and there was not much of a taste. I had thought perhaps there was too much fettuccine and in result it had dulled the pesto. But it did look nice when I place it in a bowl. Adding Parmesan on top was an option, so I did that, and it did make it taste better. After taking a few more bites, it actually can start to taste some of the ingredients from the pesto, like the pine nuts and the smell of the basil. It was starting to taste very refreshing. 

Very herby and the taste of potatoes and green beans felt satisfying.

For me, it was an 8/10.

But I made a big pot worth. So I shared with my mom and sisters. 

My mom did not like it, 0/10. She is more of a marinara person.

And my sisters loved the way it smelled, and they agreed there was not much of a taste at first but started to like it when they themselves added the Parmesan cheese. We all agreed, if I had bought some garlic bread it would have been more satisfying.

So my sister's review was a 6/10.

If you are interested in making and trying Trenette al Pesto, I have provided the link that had helped me below.

ENJOY!!!!

Trenette al Pesto (From Disney-Pixar’s Luca!)