There’s nothing like learning to cook Italian food from a British celebrity chef. Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Italy helps with this method of learning and is where this recipe is inspired from. If you’re like me and don’t want to drop upwards of $40 on a husky-sized cookbook, the Fraser Valley Regional Library has at least one copy in circulation and it’s pretty much always available. I’ve checked it out multiple times.
I felt super professional making this pasta dish because I finally got to use my mortar and pestle that I got for Christmas to crush the pistachios. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, I’m sure a food processor would be fine too. But doing the work manually made me feel extra accomplished for the day.
If you like to have some greens with a big bowl of pasta, a pan of roasted broccoli tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper will do.
This recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make and makes about 4 servings.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups dried small pasta, like macaroni, shells, or whatever else that looks yummy
- 3/4 cup shelled pistachios
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pint or more of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1/3 of a red onion, diced
- Fresh oregano and parsley, to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
- Boil the pasta according to package instructions.
- While the pasta boils, grind the pistachios into a somewhat fine crumble. Place the ground pistachios into a large boil. Add in the rest of the ingredients and combine well. Feel free to add more or less of any of the ingredients.
- Once pasta is cooked, reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water, then drain. Toss the pasta in the large bowl of the pistachio mixture. Add pasta water to loosen the pasta and pistachio mixture if needed.
Image: Carissa Wiens/The Cascade
