This is our spin on Del's Cooking Twist's recipe! Sometimes you have to get creative with what you have on hand, and we loved the way this turned out. So bright, fresh, and perfect for spring produce. Definitely will be making this pasta dish again.
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti or other pasta of choice
- ¼ cup pistachios, toasted and lightly salted (+ extra for serving)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 cups fresh basil, packed (+ extra for serving)
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Ricotta cheese
Steps
- For the pistachio pesto, add pistachio and garlic to a food processor. Pulse a few times, until chopped, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the fresh basil and pulse a few more times, until finely chopped. Stream in the olive oil and process until smooth. Open the food processor, remove the blade, and stir in the grated parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to the package directions. Before draining the pasta, reserve some of the starchy pasta water. Drain the pasta and return to the pot, off the heat.
- Add ¼ cup of the pasta water back into the pot with the pesto, and stir to thin the pesto. Toss in the cooked pasta, and mix until the pistachio pesto thoroughly coats it. Serve with spoonfuls of ricotta here and there, add extra toasted pistachios and fresh basil leaves. Enjoy!