Description
A vibrant, creamy pasta dish featuring homemade lemon pesto, tender rigatoni, rich burrata cheese, and a sweet-tart crunch from dried cranberries and toasted pine nuts.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Crust:
- 1 lb rigatoni pasta
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup pine nuts, plus extra for garnish
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 ball burrata cheese (about 8 oz)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
1. Prepare the Crust:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook rigatoni according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
- While pasta cooks, toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until golden, then set aside to cool.
- In a food processor, combine basil, Parmesan, 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts, garlic, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Pulse until coarsely chopped, then slowly drizzle in olive oil while processing until smooth. Season pesto with salt and pepper.
- Toss drained pasta with lemon pesto in the pot, adding reserved pasta water as needed to create a creamy sauce.
- Divide pasta among bowls, top each with torn pieces of burrata, a sprinkle of dried cranberries, and extra toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately.
Notes
You can customize the seasonings to taste.