I don’t know how these things happen but I can start off a day feeling fairly normal and with a “to do” list of things of thing I want to take care of, and then remember that a few weeks ago someone mentioned pistachio pesto on Twitter and then I’m suddenly lost down a google pesto rabbit-hole. This is followed by an immediate desire – nay, OBSESSION – to make this dish NOW (last time this happened I think it was lamb faggots). Anyhow, after a quick trip to the supermarket to get some pistachios and basil I was in business.
It was also a chance to use my lovely marble mortar and get a bit of a work out at the same time. Previous times making normal pine nut pesto I’ve used a small blender and the result was fine, but I wanted to see if using this traditional method made a difference. And you know what? I think it’s a close call but in future I am going to use the mortar & pestle because the individual flavours were more apparent. I used my friend Anna’s pesto recipe as a base, and looked at a few other recipes online that used pistachios instead of pine nuts, and the result was pretty damn tasty.
Update! Was out of pistachios today and fancied some pesto, used toasted almonds instead and the result was fabulous. Toasted cashews also work! FYI.
Ingredients and instructions below…
- 40 grams fresh basil leaves
- 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 40 grams chopped toasted & salted pistachios (or almonds, or cashews)
- 150-200 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 60 grams grated parmesan cheese
- squeeze of lemon juice
- black pepper (optional)
- crushed chilli flakes (optional)
If you are using a blender or food processor then just plop everything in and gently pulse until you get a nice slightly chunky consistency. If you don’t use salted pistachios you may want to add a bit of salt, but I find there’s enough just with the parmesan. Up to you.
If you are going the mortar & pestle route then start off with the garlic and chopped pistachios and pound them until they are a rough paste. Then start adding the basil leaves in small handfuls, pounding at first and then switch to a swirling motion while grinding the leaves and pistachio paste against the side of the mortar, scraping them down off the pestle as needed, until you have a smoothish texture. Start adding the cheese and olive oil, a bit at a time, while you continue swirling and grinding and scraping and before you know it you’ve got pesto. At this point you can squeeze in some lemon juice, which just brightens it up a bit. Mine turned out a bit chunkier than I expected (should have bashed the pistachios longer at the beginning) but it was still delicious.
Transfer the pesto to a glass container and “seal” the top with a thin layer of olive oil. This will keep well in the fridge for about 5-6 days, or you can also freeze it. But pesto is so good on so many things that it’ll probably be gone in a couple of days.