This recipe replaces the traditional pine nuts in pesto with a unique flavor… pistachios! Make this recipe for a nuttier, slightly sweeter pesto recipe that pairs well with pasta, pizza, proteins, and more.
¼cuppistachios with no shells, unroasted, unsalted
Instructions
Add all ingredients (including pistachios) into a blender and blend. Add more olive oil incrementally if the pesto needs to be thinner.
Notes
Recipe copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational or personal use only.
Basil: Use fresh basil leaves for this recipe
Parmesan Cheese:I use high quality, freshly grated parmesan cheese. It should be grated finely so that it looks like snow. This is worth splurging on for a great recipe.
Lemon Juice:I use a freshly squeezed lemon, but you can also use prepackaged juice if preferred
Pistachios: Choose unroasted, unsalted pistachios without shells. If you are having a difficult time finding these, you can use roasted pistachios. The key here is no additional salt.
If you want some extra lemon flavor, you can zest the lemon peel into the pesto as well
If you don’t like pistachios, you can use walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, or anything else that sounds delicious
You can make the pesto with a mortar and pesto for a more traditional texture, but if you want a thinner texture, a blender is a great way to prepare it.
You can preserve pesto by freezing it. If you want to freeze individual portions (to add to a serving of pasta, etc) you can freeze the pesto in an ice cube tray. After frozen, pop the pesto cubes out and store them in a plastic bag.
If your pesto tastes too olive-oily, allow it to rest for a few minutes before serving. When olive oil warms up, its taste gets a lot stronger. A room temperature pesto on warm pasta will be a great combo if you don’t like a strong olive oil taste.