It was a drive day and a Wednesday…what does that mean? Quick go-to dinner for the livestream! This pesto pasta comes together in under 30 minutes, and that’s why I like to have some premade pesto in the rig or pantry because it’s a heavy hitter when you need a bold flavor quickly.
But when there are only a handful of ingredients in a dish, make sure they are great! Quality pasta, pesto with no weird oils, and a nice olive oil for finishing. There’s lemon, fresh cracked pepper, and burrata too, but those base layers are important.
While the pasta water is getting going, halve your tomatoes and set them aside. Once the water comes to a complete boil, add salt to flavor the water, then the pasta. Have your jar of pesto and your lemon ready to squeeze (and zest too…I forgot that step during the livestream). Set a timer for one minute less than the package says. That way your pasta can carry over-cook in the sauce you make.
Before you drain the pasta, pull out about a cup of the salted water and set it aside. Drain your pasta, and in the large hot pan add your pesto, about a tablespoon of olive oil, and your lemon juice and zest. Mix, then slowly add, while stirring, half of your pasta water to loosen up your pesto. Add in your halved tomatoes, then your pasta back into the pan.
Turn your stovetop on very low. This is just to keep everything warm. Fold your pasta into the sauce gently. As you bring the ingredients together, see if you need a splash more of the pasta water. If you are good to go, you can plate the pasta in bowls or on a platter, top with the burrata balls, then finish those with a touch of fresh cracked pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. You usually don’t need to salt this dish because the salted pasta water has already flavored it. But taste and see what you need before you serve.
Ingredients
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1 box pasta
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1 jar high-quality pesto
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1 box sweet tomatoes, halved
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Juice of 1 lemon
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Olive oil
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2 burrata balls
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Freshly cracked black pepper
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1 cup reserved salted pasta water
Tips from Trish
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Quality matters. With so few ingredients, this is the perfect recipe to splurge on a great bronze-cut pasta, a flavorful pesto, ripe sweet tomatoes, and creamy fresh burrata.
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Prep first. Have everything measured, sliced, and ready before the pasta finishes cooking. Once the noodles are drained, dinner comes together in just a couple of minutes.
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Don’t skip the pasta water. That starchy water is the key to creating a silky sauce that clings beautifully to every bite.
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Serve immediately. Burrata is at its best when it just begins to soften over the warm pasta, creating a rich, creamy finish.
Kitchen Vocabulary
Bronze-Cut Pasta
Many premium pastas are pushed through bronze dies instead of smooth Teflon-coated dies. Bronze leaves the pasta with a rough, slightly textured surface that helps sauces cling to every bite. It’s one of the reasons a simple pesto sauce tastes even better.
Slow-Dried Pasta
Many artisan pasta makers dry their pasta slowly at lower temperatures, sometimes over 24–60 hours, rather than using high heat to speed up production. This gentler process helps preserve the wheat’s flavor and aroma while creating a firmer texture that holds its shape during cooking. Combined with bronze-cut dies, slow-dried pasta is one of the reasons many Italian and small-batch pastas have such exceptional texture and sauce-holding ability.
Stracciatella (the filling inside burrata)
Stracciatella (pronounced strah-cha-TELL-ah) comes from the Italian word stracciare, meaning “to shred” or “to tear into strips.” It’s made by combining shredded fresh mozzarella with cream, creating the rich, creamy center inside burrata.
Burrata
Burrata (pronounced boo-RAH-tah) was first made in the Apulia (Puglia) region of southern Italy in the early 1900s as a way to use leftover mozzarella curds. The outside is a pouch of fresh mozzarella, while the inside is filled with stracciatella…shreds of mozzarella mixed with rich cream. When you cut into it, the creamy center spills out, creating its own sauce. It’s delicious served with warm pasta, fresh tomatoes, crusty bread, or simply finished with flaky salt, cracked pepper, and a drizzle of great olive oil.
Carryover Cooking
Food continues to cook for a short time after it’s removed from the heat because it retains its internal temperature. That’s why it’s a good idea to cook your pasta about one minute less than the package directions for this recipe. The last bit of cooking happens as it finishes in the warm pesto sauce.
Quality Olive Oil
Since this recipe has so few ingredients, a finishing olive oil really stands out. Look for an extra virgin olive oil with a harvest date or production date on the bottle. Fresh olive oil should taste bright, slightly fruity, and have a little peppery finish, not flat or greasy.
Rigatoni
The name rigatoni comes from the Italian word rigato, meaning “ridged” or “lined.” Those deep ridges aren’t just for looks they help thicker sauces, like pesto, meat sauces, or creamy sauces, cling to the pasta for more flavor in every bite.
