Recipe: orecchiette with pistachio pesto by Mateo Zielonka

I absolutely love pistachios, said Mateo Zielonka. Cracking them out of the shells to eat the roasted salted nut alongside an evening drink, baking ground pistachios in an olive oil cake with orange or lemon zest, blitzing them into a pesto to serve with pasta…

Pistachios give this recipe a Sicilian edge and add more body to the pesto than pine nuts. I like to use ribbed romana courgettes if I can find them, as they have such a lovely texture and flavour, but ordinary courgettes will work too.

Ingredients: serves 4

• 400g fresh orecchiette
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 250g romana courgettes, cut into 1cm rings
• 160g datterini or cherry tomatoes, halved
• pecorino or parmesan, to serve
• Vegan option: serve with nutritional yeast or pangrattato (garlicky breadcrumbs) instead of the cheese

For the pistachio pesto

• 40g shelled pistachios
• bunch of basil (about 30g)
• handful of mint
• juice of 1 lemon
• 150g olive oil

Method

• Toast the pistachios in a dry frying pan over a medium-low heat, shaking the pan occasionally until they are golden. This should take 5-7 mins.
• Blitz the pistachios in a food processor, then add the basil and lemon juice. Pulse again and slowly add the olive oil through the funnel in the lid. You will end up with a dark green sauce with flecks of pistachio – how smooth you make it is up to you. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the courgettes and fry until golden. You will need to turn them so that they cook evenly. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for a further 2 mins – this will create steam inside the pan and will soften the courgettes.
• Add the halved tomatoes and cook on a low heat for 5 mins, until the tomatoes have softened. Keep warm while you cook the orecchiette.
• Bring a large pan of water to the boil, then season well with salt. Drop in the pasta and cook for 2-3 minutes so it retains some bite. Drain, reserving a jug of pasta cooking water, and transfer the pasta to the pan of courgettes and tomatoes.
• Now add the pesto and a generous splash of the pasta cooking water. Toss everything together well and check the seasoning before serving into warmed bowls. Finish each plate with finely grated pecorino or parmesan.

Recipe from “Pasta Masterclass” by Mateo Zielonka, published by Quadrille at £26. Photography by Dave Brown. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £20.99 (incl. p&p), call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Sign up for the Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations