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Fusilli With Basil Mint Pesto and Toasted Breadcrumbs

Prep Time:20 minutes
Cook Time:10 minutes
Total Time:30 minutes
Keyword: pesto
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • Kosher salt
  • 14 ounces 400 grams dried fusilli pasta
  • 1 garlic clove
  • ounces 250 grams extra-virgin olive oil, plus more
  • 3 cups lightly packed basil leaves
  • 1 bunch mint
  • 1 thyme branch
  • 1/2 cup ice water
  • ounces 75 grams finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • ounces 100 grams freshly ground bread crumbs

Instructions

  • Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season liberally with salt. Add the fusilli to the water and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about eight minutes.
  • Make the pesto. While the pasta is cooking, make the pesto sauce: Halve the garlic clove and rub its cut sides along the inside of your blender. Pour in the olive oil, then add the basil. Strip the mint leaves from the stem, add the leaves to the blender, then add the stem to the boiling pasta water. Remove as many thyme leaves as you can from the branch, add them to the blender, then add the branch to the boiling water as well. Add half the Parmigiano and half the bread crumbs to the blender. With the blender on, slowly stream in ½ cup of ice-cold water, adding more water by the tablespoonful, until the sauce blends smoothly. Add the remaining Parmigiano, season with salt, and blend again until smooth.
  • Toast the rest of the bread crumbs. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining half of the bread crumbs and cook, tossing occasionally, until toasted and crunchy, about four minutes. Transfer the bread crumbs to paper towels to drain and cool.
  • Serve when the pasta is ready, drain it, reserving at least ½ cup of the cooking water but discarding the herb stems. Return the drained pasta to the pot, and stir in the pesto sauce along with more olive oil (about 1 ounce, or 30 grams) to emulsify the pasta and make it shiny, adding some cooking water by the spoonful to make a creamy, silky sauce. Spoon the pasta into four bowls, and sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs over the top to serve.