Pesto Alfredo Sauce Recipe

Alfredo sauce enjoys quite popularity in the United States and is often considered a typical Italian recipe. This is not false, yet most Italians are not familiar with Alfredo sauce. On the other hand, Pesto is a genuine Italian dish, very popular in the country of its origin and we can use it to spice up our Alfredo sauce. Typically, pesto is green and based on basil, yet there is a red one, pesto rosso, too. The latter is made with sun dried tomatoes.
Traditionally, Pesto is made with pestle and mortar, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic and basil. Today, we have food processors, which will save us some work, for the following Pesto Alfredo sauce you could even use a bought Pesto.

Ingredients

2 handfuls of basil leaves (you might use spinach instead)

1 handful of pine nuts

2 cloves of garlic

1/3 Cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Cup parmesan cheese

1 ½ Cup single cream

3 tablespoon butter

Directions

If you want to use pestle and mortar wash them thoroughly and dry. Give two handfuls of basil leaves and add into mortar, add the garlic and start to crush the leaves. After about 2 minutes, add the pine nuts and continue until you get a well blended mass. After mixing and blending it properly add olive oil and continue until it is become a smooth paste.
Now add ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese and mix it again. Your main pesto sauce is ready.
If you opt for using a blender or food processor just give all ingredients into it, blend well, then add the olive oil and last the cheese.
Now, let’s prepare our Alfredo sauce. Take a sauce pan and add butter let it melt at medium heat. Stir it until it s melted then pour 1 ½ cup of single cream into a saucepan and whisk it. Now add your pesto, mix well and add another cup of Parmesan cheese. When serving, toss the sauce on the Pasta of your choice and add the remaining ½ cup of Parmesan.
Garnish with parsley.

Tips

You can store pesto sauce for some days if kept in the fridge and if covered with olive oil. The recipe goes well with red pesto, too.