Olive Pesto Pasta
Last year I had two holidays, one to Greece and one to Morocco. Before these holidays I wasn’t very keen on olives but as you’ll know if you’ve been to either- all restaurants serve olives before every meal and this made me realize that I didn’t dislike olives I just hadn’t tried excellent quality olives. Thus was born my olive obsession.
This pasta is a super simple dish that really lets the flavour of the olive shine through supported by a strong vegan parmesan cheese. It has all of the elements of a traditional pesto but with much less basil making it a paler in colour pesto that doesn’t have an overpowering basil flavour to it.
This pasta comes together in just 15 minutes making it a super quick and easy weeknight you’ll be having on repeat.
Serve this up with your favourite protein or just enjoy on its own. Add as many olives as your heart desires- the olive quantity is just a guide!
Olive pesto pasta ingredients and substitutes-
- Green olives- To make the base of the olive pesto you’ll need good quality green olives. You can also use black olives if you prefer
- Kalamata olives- These Greek olives are great tasting, quality olives that bring another element to this pasta. Try to buy Greek olives and not the black pizza olives as these tend to be too bitter for this pasta dish.
- Vegan parmesan – Vegan parmesan is great for that rich, cheesy flavour in a pesto. You could also use nutritional yeast for that cheesy element.
- Cashew nuts – I use cashew nuts in this recipe as they are cheaper than pine nuts and I usually have a bag in the cupboard. You can use pine nuts or if you want a nut free pesto use sunflower seed.
- Olive oil- Use extra virgin olive oil for this pesto this will give a rich flavour for the perfect pesto.
- Bucatini- I used bucatini in this dish, its like a spaghetti but has a hole in the middle making a bouncy texture. Feel free to use any pasta you like.
- Basil & parsley- Pesto is traditionally made with basil however this pesto uses olives as the star of the show so as to not overpower the olives by using lots of basil I use half basil and half parsley to give the pesto feel without the olives being drowned out.
FAQ-
- What can I serve this with?- This pasta can be served on its own or add a protein. I find vegan chicken goes well with this but you can add anything you like.
- Can I serve this cold?- This pasta can be served cold but I would use a smaller pasta shape such as fusilli as it sticks together less making it easier to eat.
Vegan olive pesto pasta
Ingredients
- 300 g Bucatini pasta
- 100 g Green olives
- 50 g Kalamata olives
- 50 g Cashew nuts raw, unsalted
- 50 g Vegan parmesan
- 25 g Fresh basil
- 25 g Fresh parsley
- 45 ml Olive oil extra virgin
Instructions
- Add the cashew nuts ang 50g green olives to a mini food processor or pestle & mortar and pulse until combined and the pieces are all even sizes.
- Next add the basil, parsley, parmesan and extra virgin olive oil. Blend this into a paste.
- Add the paste to a large bowl and set aside.
- Boil the pasta and save a ladle of pasta water.
- Add the pasta water to the olive pesto paste and mix into a sauce.
- Drain the pasta well and add to the pesto sauce, mix well.
- Serve the pasta in bowls topped with extra olives and parmesan.
Notes
If you liked this recipe be sure to check out some of my other recipes!
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