Recipe Pistachio Nuts & Ricotta Cheese Sauce for Pasta

[MypinchofItaly]

Serves: 4 | Preparation time: 10 mins | Cooking time: 20 mins

• Pasta: 380 g
• Ricotta or fresh cheese: 200 g
• Pistachio nuts, possibly unsalted: 80 g
• Pecorino cheese, grated: 2 tbsp
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO): 1 tbsp
• Salt and pepper: to taste

Method

Toast pistachio nuts in a warm frying-pan for at least 2 minutes – no oil or butter need. Stir continuously to make sure they don’t burn. Set some whole pistachio nuts aside to garnish the dish.

Break pistachio nuts in smaller pieces; you can use a knife, a meat tenderizer or a food processor.

Tip: Watch not to grind the pistachio nuts too much finely as you need some coarse pistachio crumbs and not a pistachio powder.

Boil pasta in plenty of salted water, keep aside a ladle of cooking water.

In a bowl, mix Ricotta along with grated Pecorino cheese and toasted pistachio nuts, pour in the cooking water you kept aside and stir until you get a soft smoothy cream.

Drain pasta al dente, add it to the cheese sauce with pistachio nuts bowl, add a tablespoon of EVOO and stir.

Sprinkle with some freshly ground black pepper.

Serve warm, garnished with few whole toasted pistachio nuts.

 

[mjd]

This looks delicious. What does this part mean "pour in the cooking water ladle"?

 

[MypinchofItaly]

This looks delicious. What does this part mean "pour in the cooking water ladle"?

Thanks, sorry just a typo

 

[mjd]

Thanks, sorry just a typo

No worries. I was racking my brain trying to figure it out. ;-0

 

[MypinchofItaly]

No worries. I was racking my brain trying to figure it out. ;-0

In fact it is not a common practice to insert a ladle in the sauce

 

[Morning Glory]

I think this is a great way to use pistachios - so often they are used as a 'coating' or an additive to baked goods. Here they are firmly centre stage. Beautiful.

 

[MypinchofItaly]

I think this is a great way to use pistachios - so often they are used as a 'coating' or an additive to baked goods. Here they are firmly centre stage. Beautiful.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I love the idea of toasting the pistachios. I do this all the time for spices (like cumin), but I hadn't thought of it.

You don't even need the pasta with this sauce: just a large spoon.

 

[MypinchofItaly]

I love the idea of toasting the pistachios. I do this all the time for spices (like cumin), but I hadn't thought of it.

You don't even need the pasta with this sauce: just a large spoon.

I kept some aside and the bread made the work