Pistachio pesto


A tasty, quick make-ahead pasta meal.

Fresh pasta (or 1# linguini)

  • 1 3/4 C plus 3 T “00” flour
  • 1/4 C plus 1T semolina flour
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/4 t fine sea salt
  • Big pinch of saffron threads
  1. Slowly add pasta stuffs together, liquid in center and pulling in. Calls for breaking up the yokes first.
  2. Knead 5 min.
  3. Rest in fridge 30 min
  4. Divide into 3 pieces, covering other 2. Flatten dough until 1/16 and make sure it is as wide as the machine will allow. Cut into strip and go with the other two pieces

Pesto

  • 3/4 C + 2 T shelled unsalted pistachios
  • less than 1/2 C olive oil (taste after 1/4 C)
  • 1/4 C fresh orange juice
  • 0-1/4 t salt (unless using salted pistachios)
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • 2 T finely grated Pecorino Romano, but Parm will also work (original calls for Grana Padano)
  • lemon juice

Use food processor for 3/4 C of nuts, oil, juice, salt and pepper. Purée until smooth. Add cheese and pulse until combined

Salt water and bring to boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 C of pasta water.

Put pasta and pesto back in pot with 1/4 C of water and warm for 1 min. Add pasta water if neceesay. Garnish with rest of nuts.

Notes:

3/23/12 yum – made with linguine and added black pepper and lemon juice to the pesto.  Sper creamy and yummy.

Aug 2012: used grapefruit juice which tasted wrong

From La Cucina Italiana: Pasta Special magazine late 2011. There it was called “Saffron Tagliolini with pistachio pesto”


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