An authentic Sicilian Pistachio Pesto brought to you straight from Sicily!
Today I bring to you a Sicilian Pistachio Pesto all the way from Sicily. I have been dying to share with you my Sicilian spaghetti vongole recipe, made with the squid ink linguine I managed to bring home in one piece, but I found myself without any wild baby clams. Panic all around !
All summer long I can count on Costco to bring me the best wild clams, but yesterday they let me down. Nothing. I won’t even go into talking about the 3 different grocery stores i go to, because I can not even recall the last time they had wild caught baby clams. Incredible, but fingers crossed Costco will have some for me Tuesday or Wednesday so I decided to wait. I just can’t do an authentic spaghetti vongole with gigantic farm raised wanna be clams, right ?
So meanwhile, I got this insane pistachio pesto I fell in love with while in Sicily last week.
I had it the night of the opera at the old Teatro Antico Di Taormina after getting my hand-made Italian sandals. A dreamy night with Il Padrino, which in hindsight really seems like a scene from an old Italian movie. Dreamy all the way, our Sicily Travel adventure was all that and some ricotta Cannoli !
I told you before about al Giardino, our favorite local little restaurant in Taormina Sicily, where they make you hand-made pasta and toss it in some of this Sicilian pistachio pesto. Those long steps from our villa leading up to their tables under the pergola were absolutely worth it.
Because they also saute some “ gambaretti di nasa “ -orange shrimp with blue roe, that’s finished with a splash of Marsala wine before being served on top of the home-made tagliatelle in pistachio pesto. Pinch me !
It was smooth, creamy and with a natural sweetness to it, so I had to ask what the secret was.
On top of using their priceless Sicilian gold, the pistachios as a base, they smooth out the pistachio pesto with a good splash of heavy cream. Bingo!
That explains everything. Otherwise the pistachio pesto would tend to be kind of dry and overpowering.
Like with any recipe you need to adjust it to your own taste. Add more cream to make it as smooth as you like, or less for a more intense pistachio flavor.
This Sicilian pistachio pesto recipe is a perfect example of peasant food, of simple perfection, using the ingredients that literally grow in your back yard.
I already miss waking up to the sounds of countless Cicadas, and the early morning warm winds from Africa blowing through my hair while working my way through a large bowl of Sicilian tomato salad. To breath in life and to feel alive, to feel loved and treasured, what more could one woman ask for …? Maybe a jar of freshly made Sicilian pistachio pesto 😉
Sicilian Pistachio Pesto Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 c Pistachios meats
- 1 c Basil leaves
- 3-4 tbsp Heavy cream organic
- 2 tbsp Parmigiano reggiano grated
- 3 tbsp extra virgin Olive oil
- Sea salt to taste
- 1 clove garlic grated
Instructions
- In the bowl of a small food processor purée together the pistachios, basil, olive oil and cream.
- Transfer to a bowl and stir in the garlic and parmigiana reggianno cheese.
- Adjust seasonings to your taste with sea salt.
- Depending on the texture and your taste add more cream if desired.
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