Creamy Pistachio Pesto Pasta

If you’re as much of a pesto fiend as I am you are in for a TREAT today 😄 Follow me…

Pistachio Pesto

Pistachios are one of my all-time favourite nuts. They of course work perfectly straight out of the bag and into my mouth, but they also work great in a pesto too. Here I’m subbing them for what would normally be pine nuts in a classic basil pesto. I also love adding in some ricotta for a lovely creamy pesto!

Creamy Pesto Ingredients

Basil – fresh basil and lots of it! EVOO – must be extra virgin olive oil. It has a more powerful flavour than regular olive oil and gives you that classic pesto flavour. Parmesan – make sure it is freshly grated. Ricotta – full-fat will give you a richer, fuller flavour. Pistachios – shelled and unsalted. Garlic – a small clove is all you need. Salt & Pepper – season generously to taste.

To make the pesto, I typically just bung it all in at the same time. If you’re concerned about the texture of the nuts, you can pulse them first and then add everything else in. Process shots: add everything to food processor (photo 1), blend until smooth (photo 2).

Pistachio Pesto Pasta

Alongside the pasta, I love adding some roasted cherry tomatoes. The sauce is quite rich and creamy, so the pops of sweetness from the tomatoes works really nicely. Plus, you get all those lovely juices in the base of the baking dish.

Starchy Pasta Water

This is a key ingredient that helps thin out the pesto and create the sauce. The pesto will be fairly thick at the start, but the pasta water will help transform it into a silky, glossy sauce. Just work it in the pesto a splash at a time so you don’t go overboard. Also, it’s important to only collect the water at the very end so it’s nice and starchy (more starch = creamier sauce).

Mixing in the pesto

Don’t mix the pasta and pesto in a pan over heat, the basil will burn and the pesto will go greasy. Use a large mixing bowl away from the heat (the leftover heat from the cooked pasta will keep everything warm, as will the pasta water). Process shots: add tomatoes to baking with oil, salt and pepper (photo 1), roast (photo 2), add pesto and pasta to bowl (photo 3), mix with pasta water (photo 4).

What kind of pasta should I use?

Any you like! I typically do a long-cut pasta, but to shoot this I used a shape similar to Ziti.

Can I make this ahead of time?

You can definitely make the pesto ahead of time. Just add to a bowl or jar and cover the top in oil (to stop the pesto oxidising) then tightly store in the fridge.

Do I have to add the tomatoes?

I find these add a necessary balance to the pesto so I highly recommend adding them.

Serving Pistachio Pesto Pasta

You’ll want to serve the pasta up right away so it’s still warm. I love squeezing over some lemon juice, just to brighten up the dish. I also sometimes add burrata for some extra creaminess, although this is totally optional. For more pesto recipes check out my Broccoli Pesto, Roasted Red Pepper Pesto, Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Chive Pesto. Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this pistachio pesto pasta shall we?!