BrowsingRome Blogging about my experiences and sharing my thoughts about Rome, Italy and beyond
A few days ago I saw a bottle of pistachio pesto when I was in Castroni, a specialty shop in Rome, and thought that it would be interesting to research the recipe and make it at home.
During my research, I came across many different recipes for pistachio pesto, most which use only pistachio, others with pistachio, walnuts and basil and even some which called for lemon juice and spinach.
After reviewing them all, I decided on a recipe that suited my taste and preferences. I adapted and slightly modified the pistachio pesto recipe from this vegan blog which is in Italian.
Pistachio Pesto Recipe
Ingredients – Serves 2
50 grams of roasted unsalted pistachio (shelled and skin removed as much as possible)
4-5 fresh basil leaves
12-15 grams parmesan cheese (approx – use accordingly to your taste)
15 grams extra virgin olive oil (approx – use accordingly to your taste)
salt to taste
Instructions
1. If using a food processor add all the ingredients and puree until smooth.
2. If using a mortar and pestle like I did, grind the pistachio first then added the basil leaves, parmesan cheese, olive oil and salt.
Note: Fortunately, we just got our order of olive oil from this year’s harvest which has a rich green color and made this pistachio pesto exceptional!
It’s really a simple recipe that can go with any type of pasta but obviously, best with fresh pasta.
My verdict:
Delicious! Unlike pesto alla genovese, it’s a bit heavy but I love the nutty taste. While some recipes call or the use of a bunch of basil leaves, I am happy with the results of just using 4-5 leaves. They gave a hint of basil instead and at the same time, you could taste the flavors of the pistachio.
If you have a difficult time finding pine nuts, pistachio pesto could be a nice alternative! So are you going to try this out? If you do, it would be great if you could share, in the comments below, how the pistachio pesto turned out for you.
Brava! This looks amazingg and the green oil… DIVINE! Seriously the perfect touch to this special creation!! So glad you tried out a recipe for pistachio pesto- will have to make it a homemade version in the future or maybe I’ll just trade you for a bao 😉
Let’s trade, I will take that bao 🙂 I love regular pesto but it’s nice to change it up once in a while. I think you can relate to that! It’s really easy to make even if you are on the other side of the world now. Enjoy yourself and eat up!!
I was browsing recipes the other day and saw a pistachio pesto recipe, what a coincidence as I was just about to tell you to try pistachio pesto as it’ll probably taste a lot richer. I still have a lot of pine nuts left in the fridge, especially since pine nuts are very expensive here will not let them go to waste, so will make pistachio pesto soon. Also since I just bought a new blender/food processor too.
Great minds think alike! You could also use pine nuts in the pesto but honestly, pine nuts keep very well. In the past, when we were abroad, I kept the pine nuts in the freezer. Wow nice you got a new food processor. It makes cooking easier 🙂 Let me know how your pistachio pesto works out 🙂
Oops I just realized that your recipe doesn’t include pine nuts. I’m going to try it with both pine nuts and pistachio =)
It would taste great too!! I am sure…share how it turned out for you when you get the chance.
Hi, I was looking for some pesto recipe without pine nuts, because I can’t get hold of them and the ones I did find were very expensive. I tried the recipe with a blender, and it was delicious with freshly made al dente pasta. I used twice as many basil leaves though. I tried it with 5 according to your recipe, but I guess I am either used to its aroma, or just prefer the taste to be stronger.
Thanks,
Flora
Hi Flora,
Happy to know that you liked it and made tweaks according to your taste! The reason I only use 5 basil leaves is because I know it’s stronger and just wanted a hint of basil without overpowering the taste of pistachio:) If you love basil go for it! I might try it myself the next time so see how it turns out. Thanks for sharing your feedback here and glad you had a delicious meal.