Pistacchio Pesto
I know, I know – it’s been ages since my last post. Basically my one of my house mates moved out and he was the one with the great camera I used to take pictures. I couldn’t find a decent replacement until now when another friend moved in. Anyway, I’ll do my best to get back on track now and start posting regularly again.
If you follow this blog at all, you’ve probably realized by now that I love to make pesto. Well, recently I’ve been eating tons of pistachios, so I decided to try and make them into a pesto. It turned out absolutely delicious, so here it is! This recipe makes a much thicker, crunchier pesto than the classic one, and also uses less basil in order to highlight the awesome taste of pistacchio. Now without further ado, to the kitchen!
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 400g pasta
- 120g fresh basil
- 100g pistachios
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 100ml rice milk
- 100ml olive oil
- 2 tsp white pepper
- salt
Preparation (20-25 minutes)
Put the pistachios and garlic in a food processor, and blend into small crumbs. Remove the stems from the basil, then add it to the processor with the olive oil and rice milk and blend again for about 2 minutes. It should become a thick, crumby consistency (but it should be ‘liquid’ at this point – if it’s not, add more rice milk or olive oil, depending on your taste, until it’s very thick but can be poured and stirred). Finally, add the white pepper and a generous amount of salt, and blend just for a bit one last time. Cover it and set it aside, and fill a large pot with water. Bring the water to a boil, then add salt and the pasta. Stir every 2 minutes or so, and after 8 minutes start tasting the pasta regularly. I find that most pastas are ready in 9 minutes, but by 10 it should definitely be out – there’s no better way to ruin a pasta then to overcook it. Drain the pasta, toss it back in the pot, and add the pesto. Stir it all in, serve, and enjoy! And, as always, any comments/criticism are very much appreciated.