Pistachio Pesto

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Pistachio pesto with basil is a twist on the original and every bit as good! Fragrant basil, bright pistachio nuts and the salty kick of parmesan cheese make it a great accompaniment to all sorts of dishes.

Prep Time15

Total Time15

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pistachio basil pesto, pistachio pesto, pistachio pesto recipe

Servings: cups

Calories: 1269kcal

Ingredients

2 cups basil leaves freshly picked, firmly packed
2 cloves garlic peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 cup pistachio nuts shelled volume, unsalted nuts (if you can only get salted, use less salt in the recipe)
3/4 tsp flaky salt or kosher salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated volume, use a little more if your cheese is pre-grated

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Put the basil leaves, garlic, pistachio nuts, salt and pepper into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until everything is finely chopped and beginning to form a coarse paste.
2 cups basil leaves, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup pistachio nuts, 3/4 tsp flaky salt, 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
Scrape down the processor bowl and add the parmesan cheese and olive oil to the bowl. Process again until the mixture is almost smooth. If it seems too thick you can add a little water or extra olive oil - this comes down to personal preference and what you plan to use your pesto for. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2/3 cup parmesan cheese
Decant the pesto into small jars, containers or ice cube trays (see notes). Use immediately or store for later.

Notes

This recipe makes approximately 1 1/2 cups of pesto. Feel free to halve it if you don't need that much.
The nutritional calculation for this recipe is for the whole batch. Serving sizes can vary, please divide the nutritional values by the number of serves you end up with.
To refrigerate pesto, put it into a jar or plastic container and smooth out the top. Cover with a thin layer of olive oil to stop it browning, and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To freeze pesto, you can put it into a container with olive oil as for refrigerating, but I prefer ice cubes of pesto. Divide your pesto up in an ice cube tray and freeze. Once it's frozen, you can pop the cubes out into a freezer bag or vacuum seal bag, then seal and store for up to 8 weeks.
Swap out some or all of the basil for other soft herbs. Fresh parsley, tarragon, cilantro (coriander) and baby spinach leaves are all great.
Swap the pistachios for pecans, cashews, almonds or macadamia nuts. Each will give its own nuance to the pesto.
Make it spicy. Add some red pepper flakes when blending the pesto for an extra kick.
Make it creamy. Use Jamie Oliver's trick where he crumbles and stirs a cooked potato into his pesto to make it creamy and silky. Sounds weird but it's great!

Nutrition