Recipe: Tallarines verdes (Peruvian pesto pasta)

This is a revised version of the tallarines verdes recipe I posted several years ago. What’s the difference? This recipe is closer to my aunties’ recipe and features gluten-free pasta.

Like tallarines blancos, this dish was in rotation at my aunties’. The difference is that for a long period of time I didn’t like the pesto sauce but loved the white sauce. My uncle was the opposite, so on pasta day only one of us was happy. Obviously, I grew out of my pesto aversion and now love it.

Once again, I didn’t get to ask my auntie Sumi for the original recipe before she passed away. I have tweaked the current family recipe to approximate the taste I remember. My aunties used penne, I used fusilli because I think this shape works better with pesto.

Tallarines verdes

This is my aunties' version of the Peruvian-Italian version of pesto pasta.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian, Peruvian

Ingredients

  

• 250 g gluten-free pasta, preferably fusilli (I used San Remo pulse pasta)
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 1 cup English or baby spinach
• 75 g queso fresco or feta cheese (I used goat's feta)
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan
• salt and pepper

Instructions

 

• Cook pasta according to pack instructions. Drain, reserving some of the cooking water.
• Process or blend basil, spinach and cheeses, adding a few tablespoons of the reserved cooking water to achieved desired thickness. Season to taste.
• Return pasta to pot, coat with sauce (heat a bit if needed) and serve with a side salad.

Keyword basil, gluten free, main, pasta, Peruvian cuisine, Peruvian food, pesto

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