Italy: Sicilian Pistachio Pesto

First time I ever came across pistachio pesto was when I ventured down to Sicily. This incredible twist on the basil pesto (Genovese), which typically is made with Pine nuts. This, to me, was a very welcome flavour twist and I instantly fell in love with it. It is a less potent flavour and has a sweeter quality to it because of the nuts used.

When making this, make sure to use really only good quality ingredients because you really want all of the flavors to come through. Since this doesn’t get processed at all, you really can’t cut any corners with ingredients, I’m afraid.

In Sicily, they also often add anchovies to this mix and that creates a perfect balance of saltiness that you want after walking around the hot, cobbled streets of one of the Sicilian towns. Have this with a nice fresh pasta and a cold glass of Etna White and teleport yourself mentally to one of these said little streets.

The Pesto!

Ingredients

200g Pistachios, unsalted

100g Parmigiano Reggiano

3 cloves of garlic

20g basil

150ml Olive Oil

blend

Throw your ingredients into the food processor and blend it. I eye-balled the olive oil amounts and added some gradually as I blended to get the consistency I prefer in a pesto.

You can always throw the anchovies into the mix as you’re blending, but I preferred to add them to the pasta as I was making it, giving myself the flexibility of if I want it in there or not.

In this case, I used the pesto, added the anchovies and spinach and threw that on to some fresh spaghetti.

Enjoy!