Pistachio Pasta

A very dear friend of mine (you know who you are) inspired me to make this surprisingly refreshing pasta, with a pistachio pesto sauce!

The recipe is adapted from Nate Hamilton’s original Pistachio Pesto recipe.

Ingredients : (serves 6)

500g spaghetti

1.5 cups shell roasted, unsalted pistachios

1.5 cups fresh mint leaves

5-6 Cherry Tomatoes

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1-2 tsp Pimento chilli powder ( alternatively, crushed red chilli flakes will do)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Pulse:

Pulse all the ingredients ( except the spaghetti ofcourse! Haha!) in a processor, until a course puree is formed.

Done!

Toss with hot spaghetti. Garnish with  mint.

Enjoy!

This is my new favourite pasta dish!

Pasta Perfect!

So, a very talented photographer – Pratik Panchal edited this image for me, and also took the liberty of naming this post “Pasta Perfect”!

This dish can be easily tossed together in 15-20 minutes!

Put together some:  serves 4

1 bag of pasta that you enjoy – this goes well with almost any type

1 cup (or more) of basil pesto – see  https://tblstudiofood.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/pesto-for-the-purbhoos-17/

1/2 cup pine nuts

2 cups whole rosa tomatoes

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

250g Bocchini mozzarella

salt

pepper

olive oil

Toss:

Boil the pasta – al dente.

While the pasta is on the stove, dress the tomatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper and maybe a bit of green chilli, if you enjoy a bit of heat! Roast in the oven for about ten minutes.

When the pasta is done, mix the pesto while its hot!

Tear up those perfect white balls of cheese and toss into the pasta, along with the sizzling tomatos!

Add the Parmesan, salt  and pepper to taste, along with a quick drizzle of olive oil  and toss.

Sprinkle the toasted pine nuts over the dish, and serve warm or cold as a salad.

I just love using a pasta with a shell like interior - it gives surprises of cheese and pine nuts when you dig in unexpectedly!

Oh…there’s nothing like fresh italian bread to soak up the remaining pesto afterwards;)

Pesto for the Purbhoos

It has been raining these past few days. My mother’s little herb garden is flourishing…with over 10 different items to pick and choose from every day! There is nothing better than growing your own food, preparing it and tasting it’s  freshness!

Our basil is growing wildly, begging to be picked and transformed into a fragrant pesto!

For a large jar:

a generous bunch of basil – say, 25ish leaves

1 cup of pine nuts

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese ( non animal rennet Parmesan is easily available)

3/4 cup (or more) of olive oil

salt

crushed green chilli

pepper

a pinch of mustard powder*

It’s so simple:

Throw everything into the blender and pulse until you get a choppy consistency.

If you wish to have a thinner pesto, add more olive oil, and blend until it is smoother.

Since I don’t include garlic (or onion) in any of my food, to add a bit of pungency to the pesto, a pinch of mustard does the trick!

I made this batch for my dear friends the purbhoo sisters!

Please make yourself as MUCH as you can, and enjoy in many ways!

Toss a little bit of pesto with some hot pasta…my favourite! Add a bit of fresh cream for a creamy pesto sauce, or enjoy plain, like I do!

Dress a salad with it

Or make the cheesiest mozzarella pesto sandwich

Toss with some fresh diced tomatoes, and pile it up on toast.

The possibilities are endless!