Creamy Pasta With Chestnuts Pesto

Blend all the ingredients together until you have a thick cream, almost like hummus.You can make the cream more or less smooth based on your preference. We like it smooth but with a grainy texture. Set aside.Note: depending on the chestnuts, you might need to add one or two tablespoons of extra soy milk to get the blender going. TIP: Wanna succeed with the basics of vegan pesto? For a comprehensive vegan pesto tutorial, see our basil vegan pesto guide that entails cooking methods and tips to succeed.

For the pasta dish

In a large pot, bring the water to boil, then salt it with coarse sea salt and add the spaghetti.Give it a stir. Cook as instructed on the package, minus 1 minute. Save two cups of pasta cooking water before draining the pasta. While the pasta boils, add the oil to a non-stick pan. When the oil is warm, add the clove of garlic and chopped mushrooms.Cook the mushrooms on medium heat for 8 minutes, season with salt, then add 4 to 5 spoonfuls of chestnut pesto and 1 cup of pasta cooking water. Stir to dissolve the pesto and turn it into a sauce. Add more pasta water if necessary. Portion into serving plates, sprinkle with parsley, serve and eat immediately.

Tips

Don’t undercook the chestnuts: for best results, make sure your chestnuts are cooked through. The best way to be sure the chestnuts are cooked is to set a timer to 45 minutes, then take a chestnut out, cool it down under running water, peal it and taste it. The chestnut should be very soft, and not with a bite. If not ready, boil for a further 10 minutes at a time.Salt the pasta water: season the pasta water with a generous amount of coarse sea salt. The pasta will taste so much better.Cook the pasta al dente: to make sure your pasta stays al dente, drain it 1 or 2 minutes before the actual cooking time that is recommended on the package. Then finish cooking the pasta in a pan with the sauce, in this case the chestnut pesto, adding some pasta cooking water.Save the pasta cooking water: when draining the pasta, have the habit of saving at least 1 cup of pasta water. Pasta cooking water is rich of starch. If added to the sauce it will make the dish creamier. When you jump the pasta in the pan with the sauce before serving it, always add a ladle or two of pasta water.

Frequently asked questions

Variations

No mushrooms

For a simpler version of this pasta with chestnuts, you can remove the mushrooms, and just boil some pasta and coat it with the chestnut pesto. It will still be delicious, but we do recommend using adding the mushrooms as they complement the flavour of the chestnuts perfectly.

Chestnuts pesto with gnocchi

Another great way to eat this delicious chestnut pesto is with our vegan gnocchi. Replace the spaghetti with some delicious Italian gnocchi. They are super easy to make vegan at home. If you get store-bought, make sure they are vegan, as some recipes add egg to the potato dough.

Chestnut spread on a toast

The chestnut pesto almost tastes like a chocolate-free version of Nutella. If you want to spice things up, add a couple of teaspoons of dark cacao powder to the blender when you are preparing the pesto. The result is a guilt-free hazelnut-chestnut chocolate spread that will be out of this world on some bread. Eat it for breakfast or as a mid-afternoon snack.

Storage

This pasta with chestnuts doesn’t store well. Max 12 hours in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat it in a pan on the stove with some water. The chestnut pesto can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Similar recipes

If you love this chestnut pasta, try one of these easy pasta recipes:

Spaghetti aglio e olioCreamy mushroom pastaBoscaiola PastaSpaghetti Cacio e PepePenne all arrabbiataPasta PomodoroLemon Pasta with spinachPasta in spinach pestoRed pepper pasta