'I Tried Giada De Laurentiis' White Pesto and My Weeknight Dinners are Forever Changed'
Giada De Laurentiis has been a prominent name in Italian cooking since the debut of her Food Network show Everyday Italian in 2005. Fast forward to nearly 20 years later and she's still creating and sharing delicious Italian-style recipes that are easily attainable for the home chef.
While many of her fans haven't quite gotten over her incredible orzo salad, her recent recipe for a nutty, no-cook white pesto sauce has really sent fans into a frenzy. Pairing the sauce with pasta from her new line —Giadzy Pasta by Giada De Laurentiis — Giada calls this her "new favorite recipe. With that in mind, I knew I had to test it out to see how it measured up agains the traditional green stuff. Here's how it went.
Get the recipe: Giada's White Pesto
Ingredients for Giada's White Pesto
Giada posted a short, simple tutorial on her social media accounts for this creamy pesto which includes walnuts, ricotta, lemon, garlic, basil and Parmesan. In a response back to one commenter, she says you can also substitute sunflower seeds for the nuts and notes that the sauce is "similar to a creamy Alfredo, but offers up a "super fresh" taste.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
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Related: ‘Giada Just Taught Me the Best Way To Make Orzo Salad'
How to Make Giada's White Pesto
While you have a pound of pasta boiling, preheat your oven to 350°F. Once ready, toast your walnuts until fragrant, about 8 minutes. Transfer the walnuts to a food processor and finely chop. Add in Parmesan, ricotta, olive oil, garlic cloves, salt and the zest of one lemon. Process until combined.
Before draining the pasta, make sure to save about a cup of the water. Add the sauce to the pasta, drizzling in some of the pasta water until the sauce has thickened to coat your noodles. Top with fresh basil and more lemon zest, if desired.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
What I Thought of Giada's White Pesto
Giada's show on the Food Network was one I grew up watching and I collected her cookbooks like baseball cards. In fact, her turkey meatball recipe is still the one I make nearly every week. That all being said, I was super excited to try this no-cook sauce recipe because it's perfect for the hot days of late-summer when you just don't want to cook but want something fresh and exciting on your plate.
The ingredients were all items I already had in the house], so it was a snap to throw together. I couldn't get my hands on Giada's ginormous ruffly Manfredi Lunghi Pasta (it's seriously long — some of the pieces are 22-inches!) however, so I just used my old reliable Cascatelli pasta from Trader Joe's. The most painful part was taking out the food processor and having to wash it after, but it was a small price to pay for such a glorious meal.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
From the first bite, I fell in love. I can see why Giada was literally dancing around her kitchen while she was making it. The creamy, nutty sauce with the zing of garlic and the pop of fresh lemon came together beautifully. (I may have even thrown in a bit of extra Parmesan.)
Toasting the nuts as Giada recommends was key as it brings out more flavor, and I made sure to save some of the pasta water to help thicken and bring the velvety white sauce together in the pot. Since it had both ricotta and Parmesan, it reminded me of an Italian-style mac and cheese — but trust me, I am not complaining about that. I topped my bowl with a bit more lemon zest, julienned basil and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. It was hearty enough for a weeknight dinner but also kept pretty well, so it would be a hit for a dinner party or fancy side for a late-summer picnic, too.
Tips for Making Giada's White Pesto
1. Toast your walnuts. As Giada suggests, toasting the walnuts definitely took this pesto up a notch. So, you'll definitely want to keep this in mind when making yours.
2. Keep some extra Parmesan and lemon zest handy. Adding both in will really make your pesto pop.
3. Don't stop at using this sauce on pasta alone. The Giadzy team suggests on their website that you can use this sauce for crostini, pizza or as a topping for roasted or grilled veggies. Sold.
Get the recipe: Giada's White Pesto
Up next: Why Giada De Laurentiis is Leaving the Food Network