Ciao my friends! Disney’s latest epic tale, Luca, celebrates all things Italian. The story follows two sea monsters, Luca and Alberto, as they take a high-energy adventure to the town of Portorosso! After a year of limited travel, I love experiencing new cultures alongside my family. The monsters get to experience so many firsts about the Mediterranean culture, and are blown away by the cuisine!
My favorite scene is when Alberto and Luca have dinner with Giulia and her dad. They try to navigate dinner as humans, but wind up using their hands to eat their main dish—pasta! A hilarious, delicious mess.
To properly celebrate Luca, our friends at Disney sent a gift box filled with culinary delights from one of my favorite stores, Eataly. The pesto pasta and linguini were yummy. Bellissimo!
We regularly travel to Italy at dinnertime with our family’s favorite basil pesto recipe. My daughter loves it, and it’s simple to prepare. Try it this week, and host your own Italian feast.
Begin by preparing your base ingredients. Select your favorite pasta type and brand, and follow the package instructions. (We prefer large pasta shapes, like a penne, to soak up all the pesto goodness into the surfaces.)
Gather your pesto sauce ingredients.
½ cup pine nuts
3/4 cup grated Parmesan (For best results, grate yourself)
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
5 cups basil leaves (with stems removed)
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Combine basil leaves, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor and process until very finely minced.
- Drizzle in the oil, and process until the mixture is smooth.
- Lastly add the cheese and process briefly, just long enough to combine the cheese.
- Add pesto to your warm pasta and serve!
- Refrigerate unused pesto. Even if you have only a small amount remaining, it’s delicious on veggies, or a dip for fresh crusty bread.
