This website is reader supported. If you buy anything from the affiliate links in this post, we may receive a small commission. Thank you!
Roll out the red carpet for the culinary oddball that’s all set to steal your heart (and confuse your palate): the Peppermint Pesto Pasta! This quirky and quixotic dish refuses to adhere to any norms. It’s the minty-fresh wind of change your pasta night desperately needs.
Ingredients:
- 500g spaghetti
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons crushed peppermint candies
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions:
- Boil the spaghetti in salted water according to package instructions.
- Combine the basil leaves, crushed peppermint candies, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic, and salt in a food processor.
- Pulse until the mixture forms a paste, then drizzle in the olive oil while the food processor is running.
- Drain the spaghetti and toss it with the peppermint pesto.
- Serve immediately, bewildering your guests with this strange flavor combination.
An Unexpected Twist
Our ingredient list may seem like a roll call of a typical Italian pesto pasta with a notable, if not alarming, deviation—peppermint candies. That’s right, folks, we are crushing peppermint candies and inviting them to the pesto party! Intrigued? You should be!
Crafting Your Peppermint Pesto
We start with 500g of spaghetti, but that’s about as traditional as this recipe gets. Then we’ve got a bouquet of fresh basil leaves, our trusty parmesan cheese, a handful of pine nuts, and a couple of garlic cloves. Now, here comes the plot twist: 2 tablespoons of crushed peppermint candies, all set to join this merry band of ingredients and raise some eyebrows.
Step 1: Pasta Preparation
First things first, let’s get that spaghetti boiling in a pot of salted water. Cook it al dente according to the package instructions because nobody likes a limp noodle.
Step 2: Peppermint Pesto in Progress
While the spaghetti is bubbling away merrily, we’re going to need a food processor. Into this vessel of transformation, we’re going to add the basil leaves, peppermint candies, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic, and a little bit of salt.
Step 3: The Transformation
The fun begins when we start to pulse these ingredients, watching as they transform from a ragtag group of culinary misfits into a unified, if unconventional, paste. But the magic doesn’t stop there. We then drizzle in olive oil, binding everything together into a beautifully aromatic pesto.
Step 4: Pasta Meets Pesto
Drain the cooked spaghetti and then brace yourself for the moment of truth. It’s time to unite the spaghetti with its unexpected peppermint pesto partner. A toss here, a stir there, and voila! You’ve got yourself a batch of Peppermint Pesto Pasta.
Serving Suggestion
Serve this dish immediately to your unsuspecting guests, reveling in their look of surprise at this strange flavor combination. Watch their faces as they chew that first forkful, registering the creamy texture of the pesto, the familiar earthiness of the basil, and then, BAM! The unmistakable freshness of peppermint hits, leaving them in a delicious state of disbelief.
Final Words
The Peppermint Pesto Pasta is a bold culinary experiment that merges the boundaries of sweet and savory. It’s a dish for the adventurous, the daring, and anyone bored of the same old spaghetti. It’s a conversation starter, a culinary dare, and a tasty meal, all rolled into one. So why not add some minty magic to your next pasta night? You never know, this could be your new favorite way to enjoy spaghetti!
YOU ROCK!! Any order timely placed using the affiliate links above helps to support this stubborn dad (who stubbornly wants to work remotely, closer to his kids) through a small commission (see here for details). Seriously, you’re the best!
Want even more unusual, daring and possibly delicious recipes to try? I’ve got ’em!
