Pistachio nuts and Ricotta, that works very fine both as a sweet and a savoury combo at same time.
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 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.