Watch out in the shops. The new seasons fresh garlic is now on the market and looks beautiful. Fresh, moist with a hint of pink it seriously taste delicious. It makes me think of summer, freshness and delightful, freshly made pesto.
Genoa, the magnificent trading town on the West coast of Italy, just down from Nice and Monte Carlo is famous for pesto. The area has an abundance of sweet, salty, wild basil that clings to the dramatic cliffs and rocky foothills behind the city.
Pine nuts are collected from the pine forests along the coast and blended with light, aromatic Ligurian olive oil and pecorino, sharp, sheep’s milk cheese that adds an intensity of flavour. You will nearly always see pesto Genovese served with Trofie pasta, small squares of homemade pasta rolled by hand into a bite sized cigar shape. Green beans are added to the pasta as it boils to add an extra spring ingredient.
This pesto is inspired by Sicily, with crushed pistachio nuts and lemon zest.
To keep the pesto green and vibrant whisk some ice cubes in the blender before starting to keep everything well chilled and follow our chef, Emmanuel Dagnino, who adds one or two ice cubes to the blender as well.
Trofie with Pistachio and lemon Pesto
300g trofie pasta or orecchiette
3-4 large handfuls fresh basil (about 150g)
1 small clove new seasons fresh garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh pistachio nuts, crushed
3 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino Romano (or just use parmigiano)
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano
½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Zest of unwaxed lemon
Squeeze of lemon juice
Pick the basil leaves from the stalks discarding any that are bruised or damaged
Wash in iced water.
Add the basil leaves, chopped garlic, pistachio nuts and cheeses, and scant ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt into a blender.
Blitz in pulses to make a rough paste.
Add the olive oil in a steady stream and blitz until you have a thick bright creamy paste.
Meanwhile boil the pasta until ‘al dente’
Drain keeping some of the water clinging to the pasta and add to a large, warmed serving bowl.
Spoon the pesto onto the piping hot pasta and toss it to coat the pasta
To serve, add some lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice.
The pesto can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Cover the surface with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent it discolouring.
Fresh pesto can be frozen. Pop in ice cube trays and use as you require.
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