When we asked the owners of Aventino’s Italian Restaurant, whose roots on Fort Worth’s Westside date to 1982, to offer up a recipe for our monthly Dish feature, their choice was an easy one.

Zander Hight is the third generation of his family to operate Fort Worth’s Aventino’s restaurant.

Zander Hight, 29, chef and third generation of his family to run the restaurant, grew up in Aventino’s, doing homework there after school and working in the kitchen. “I would do my homework in the dining room,” he says. “As soon as I could work, I wanted to work.”

The first sauce he learned: pesto. So Hight offered up Shrimp Ziti Pesto, one of the traditional Italian dishes the restaurant serves up, for our Dish feature. It’s also a nod to the restaurant’s history. Aventino’s opened in 1982 using family recipes and operated 28 years before closing. A few years later, second-generation owners Chris and Erica Hight reopened at its current location, 5800 Lovell Ave., off Camp Bowie Boulevard. Zander, their son, is now the principal operator.

The restaurant remains a family affair, with second and third generations running it. Its focus remains adult, with dinner-only service, classic Italian takes such as twice-baked lasagna and veal saltimbocca, and mixed drinks added late last year. There are no children’s menus or pizza. Post-COVID, “we are really trying to get people back to formal dining,” Zander Hight says.

Shrimp Ziti Pesto
Serves 4

Pesto sauce

• 25 oz. fresh basil leaves, plus a basil flower for garnish
• 4 peeled garlic cloves
• ⅛ cup toasted pine nuts, and more for garnish
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• ⅛ cup grated pecorino Romano cheese, and more for garnish
• ½ cup olive oil

Preparation: Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until basil leaves are minced.

Zander Hight’s Shrimp Ziti Pesto carries his pesto, the first sauce he learned working in the restaurant.

Pasta

• 32 oz. cooked pasta

Preparation:
Toss the pasta with the room temperature pesto sauce. You can use any pasta shape.

Protein

• 20 grilled shrimp

Preparation:
We chose 13/15 large peeled shrimp. Toss in olive oil, then grill until done. Chicken is a great alternative to shrimp. You can omit the protein all together, and this can be a vegetarian dish.

Garnish with toasted pine nuts, grated pecorino Romano cheese and a basil flower.

Quick meal tip: Any leftover pesto can be frozen in an ice cube tray and stored for later use.