Pistachio pesto is one of those condiments that is not readily available in the supermarkets. Changing the pesto recipe from pine nuts to pistachios transforms the taste of the pesto completely. I did not use cheese in this recipe because it was a big batch and I wanted to freeze the pesto. You can always add the cheese before eating.
Blanch the herbs and garlic before blending, they will stay green much longer.
Ingredients
| Mild | Medium | Spicy | |
| 1 1/2 | 1 1/2 | 1 1/2 | cups of pistachios |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | oz. basil |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | oz. spinach |
| 2 | 3 | 4 | cloves of garlic |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | cup olive oil |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | lemon, juice and zest |
| 1/2 | 1 | 1 1/2 | inch green chili |
| 1/2 | 1/2 | 1/2 | teaspoon salt |
- Heat a pot of boiling water and add the basil, spinach and garlic to the boiling water for about 30 seconds.
- Strain right away and then add it to a bowl of iced water. Once cooled, drain and try to press down in the colander to get rid of as much of the water as possible.
- Add the greens, garlic olive oil, salt, zest, lemon juice salt to a food processor and pulse to a desired consistency.
- If you are using it right away, add a cup of grated parmesan.
ALTERNATIVES
| Nuts | Herbs |
| Pistachios | Basil |
| Pine nuts | Spinach |
| Walnuts | Mint |
| Almonds | Kale |
| Pecans | Arugula |
Notes
- If you keep the ratios the same, you can vary the greens and nuts.
- Pistachio pesto with mint instead of basil tastes great as well.
- This version is more like a spread for sandwiches and flatbreads (see picture with flatbread in the background).
- Dilute with pasta water to use as sauce for pasta.
- If the nuts are salted, adjust the amount of added salt, after tasting, once the pesto is blended.
- For nut allergies, use sunflower seeds and or pumpkin seeds as substitutes and increase the herbs by 10%.
Recipe Type