Ingredients for four servings
Use 80 g of pistachio kernels, 20 g of clean, dry basil leaves, 50 ml of olive oil, 30 g of grated mature cheese, an optional half garlic clove and salt to taste. Save some pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce when serving.
Preparation
Blend the pistachios with the garlic, if using. Add basil, cheese and oil, and work in short pulses. Choose whether to leave small pieces or make it smoother. Taste before adding salt: the cheese already contributes salt. Mix the pesto with pasta off the heat, adding cooking water gradually to reach your preferred texture.
Variations and allergens
You can leave out the cheese and adjust oil and salt for a dairy-free version. It will differ, but you can adapt it to your dish. The recipe contains pistachio and, with cheese, milk. Check the pasta ingredients too. Prepare close to serving time and refrigerate leftovers.
Keep exploring
Adjust the texture gradually
If the sauce is thick, add pasta cooking water a spoonful at a time as you mix it with the pasta. Stop when it coats the dish without becoming watery. To keep some crunch, reserve a little chopped pistachio and add it at the end. Your appliance’s power and the blending time affect the result, so check the texture between pulses.
Other ways to serve it
Try the pesto with roasted vegetables or on toast. Adjust the quantity to the dish and taste the complete combination before adding more salt or cheese. Pesto contains fresh ingredients: refrigerate leftovers in a clean, closed container and avoid leaving them at room temperature for prolonged periods. It does not keep like dry pistachios. For a preparation focused on the nuts alone, explore our homemade pistachio paste guide.