Orecchiette with green beans and pistachio pesto
"This is a really refreshing style of pesto from Sicily that has minty, lemony kick to it. I follow the lead of my best friend’s Italian mom, who makes this pesto on the runny side (by that I mean be generous with the olive oil) so it’s not only beautifully rich and glossy, but glides over the pasta. If you can find salted ricotta, leave out the pecorino and roughly grate it on top of the pasta before serving."
Difficulty
Easy 👌Preparation
Baking
Resting
Ingredients
Utensils
cutting board, knife, pot (large), food processor, fine grater, citrus press, sieve, rubber spatula
How-To Videos
How to grate cheese
How to zest citrus fruits
3 easy ways to juice a lemon
Nutrition per serving
Step 1/3
- 100 g green beans
- 250 g orecchiette
- salt
- cutting board
- knife
- pot (large)
Trim green beans and slice diagonally. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season with salt. Cook orecchiette according to package instructions. Approx. 4 min. before the pasta is done, add green beans to the pot.
Step 2/3
- 50 g pistachios
- 70 ml olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 30 g basil
- 15 g mint
- ½ lemon
- salt
- pepper
- food processor
- fine grater
- citrus press
While the pasta and green beans cook, add pistachios and olive oil to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add garlic, basil and mint leaves, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, and blend until the pesto is smooth and glossy.
Step 3/3
- shredded Pecorino cheese (for serving)
- sieve
- rubber spatula
Drain pasta and green beans, reserving some pasta water. Add pasta and green beans back to the pot, add pesto and toss to coat. Add as much pasta water as needed until it all comes together. Serve orecchiette with shredded Pecorino cheese. Enjoy!
Enjoy your meal!