Colm O'Gorman: Another taste of Rome with my recipe for pasta with cavalo nero pesto
"I love a good pesto, but I had never had one made with cavalo nero instead of basil, so this was new to me. It was phenomenal."
I have another recipe for you this week that was inspired by a recent work trip to Rome. My colleagues and I were staying together in self-catering accommodation, and I was asked to plan a meal that we could cook together on one of the evenings we were there. Cooking for a crowd is easy if you choose the right menu, and as we were in Italy, it had to be pasta. I decided that we would make a couple of my favourite pasta dishes; Pasta alla Norma and my linguine with nduja, fennel and lemon. Both of those delicious recipes have previously featured in this column and are available on ieFood.
Our kitchen cupboards had been well stocked before we arrived, and as well as all the ingredients for my chosen pasta dishes, there were a few jars of locally made cavalo nero pesto. I love a good pesto, but I had never had one made with cavalo nero instead of basil, so this was new to me. It was phenomenal. In fact, it was so good, we ate it with a spoon straight from the jar. We also used it as a sauce for some pasta. We simply tossed some cooked linguine in a few tablespoons of the pesto and served it with a little grated parmesan. So simple, but utterly delicious.
