Chestnut pesto pasta
Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Toby Scott
Chestnut pesto pasta
Swap the traditional pine nuts for chestnuts in this seasonal spin on pesto
Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
561Kcal
Fat
25gr
Saturates
5gr
Carbs
65gr
Sugars
5gr
Fibre
7gr
Protein
16gr
Salt
0.2gr
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our former Junior Food Editor. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Abigail Spooner
Abi is our former Junior Food Editor. An obsessive foodie with a sweet tooth, she is happiest when baking and is a firm believer that there is always room for dessert (preferably following a big bowl of pasta)
See more of Abigail Spooner’s recipes
Ingredients
- 125g cooked, peeled chestnuts
- 1 x 30g pack basil (use both the leaves and the stalks)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 40g Parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve - use vegetarian cheese if required
- 100ml olive oil, plus½ tbsp
- a squeeze of lemon juice, to taste
- 300g pasta (we used linguine)
- 200g shredded kale
Step by step
Tip
Why not make a larger batch of pesto? It’ll store in the fridge for up to a week and can be swirled into soups, drizzled over pizza or tossed through vegetables.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Put 75g of the chestnuts, the basil and garlic cloves in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Add the Parmesan and pulse again until combined. With the motor running, pour in 100ml oil. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season to taste. Roughly chop the remaining chestnuts.
- Cook the pasta according to pack instructions.
- Meanwhile, heat ½ tablespoon of oil in a frying pan. Sauté the kale and chopped chestnuts with 2 tablespoons of water for 5 minutes until the kale is tender and bright green.
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Drain the pasta, return to the pan and toss through the pesto, kale and chestnuts. Shave or grate over some extra Parmesan to serve.
