Recipe- Baked Pasta In Jalapeno Pesto

This baked Pasta in Jalapeno Pesto recipe is creamy, spicy, and delicious all in one! Learn how to make this fast and easy casserole that everyone will love! Less than 30 minutes prep!

I’m all for fusion food, whether it’s my Indo-Italian keema pizza or Indo-Chinese one pan veg noodles and manchurian stir fry. Admit it, it’s fun! When my friend and I met for lunch at her place, she made us some Pasta in jalapeno pesto. And I remember thinking ‘Who puts a Mexican ingredient in a staunchly traditional Italian recipe??’ But as soon as lunch was over, I knew I had to share this recipe with y’all!

A traditional pesto sauce is made by grinding basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese in a mortar and pestle. We’re going to modify it 3 ways – by adding jalapenos, using cashews instead of pine nuts, and by using a blender instead of mortar and pestle.

Of all my Jalapeno recipes, this one definitely stands out! I usually use pepper or chilli flakes for a spicy pasta, but adding Jalapenos to the pesto sauce definitely takes the flavour up a notch. For this pasta in jalapeno sauce, I use 3-4 jalapenos slit lengthwise. I also de-seed it, but if you like the heat, keep the seeds. It’s like jalapeno poppers, but in pasta! I LOVE it!

Ingredients

For the Pesto

5 Jalapenos deseeded
1/2 cup Basil Leaves tightly packed
1/4 cup Cashews soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
1/4 cup Parmesan grated
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Olive Oil extra virgin

For the Pasta

250 grams Pasta Farfalle/ Penne
2 tablespoons Salt
2 tablespoon Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic thinly sliced
1/2 cup Bell Peppers cubed (red and yellow)
5-6 Cherry Tomatoes halved
1/4 cup Milk
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs toasted
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated

Method

* For the jalapeno pesto, place all the ingredients, except olive oil in the food processor. Slowly add olive oil as you blend and process till smooth

* To cook the pasta, bring water to boil in a large pot with 2 tablespoons salt.

* Add pasta to the boiling water and cook till al dente according to package instructions.

* Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid and drain. Wash the pasta with cold water and set aside. This prevents the pasta from becoming sticky.

* In another pan, heat 2 tablespoon olive oil, add garlic and saute over medium heat till golden.

* Add the bell peppers and cook for a minute. Add cherry tomatoes and cook stirring for another minute.

* Add the jalapeno pesto and the reserved pasta cooking liquid and bring to a simmer.

* Add the cooked pasta and milk and toss together over medium heat till nicely coated with the pesto sauce. Toss in half the breadcrumbs and mix.

* Pour into a baking dish. Mix the remaining toasted bread crumbs and parmesan together and scatter evenly on top of the pasta.

* Broil (turn only the top element on) for 3-4 minutes in a preheated oven.