It's letter F of Alphabetti, an A-Z of Twisted pasta. This week it's the turn of fusilli, and this recipe features crispy cheese fricos (cheese crisps!), hot and sweet pickled peppers and a wonderfully toasty sunflower seed pesto, to boot. It's your favourite supermarket pasta salad, but better.
In a blender, process the pumpkin seeds, fresh jalapeño, basil, garlic and olive oil with a pinch of salt until smooth. Add 40g Parmesan cheese and blitz again briefly, then set aside. For the frico (cheese crisp), place a wide, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Sprinkle in 40g Parmesan in an even layer and allow to melt.
Turn the heat down to medium-low and after 3-4 minutes, the cheese should be crisp on the underside, enabling you to flip with a spatula. If not, carry on cooking until it’s ready. Cook for 1 minute on the other side then remove and drain on kitchen towel - the cheese will become very crisp as it cools.
Cook the pasta in salty boiling water until just past al dente (or to your liking), then drain and rinse briefly under cold running water until the pasta is room temperature. Drain very well, then place in a large bowl.
Dress the pasta with the lemon juice, a little more olive oil and as much pesto as you feel it needs. Add the pickled chillies, a few toasted seeds, the avocado, spinach and rocket, then crack in half of the crispy cheese. Toss very well then serve on a wide plate with the remaining crispy cheese shards over the top. Enjoy!
