Play all audios:
Connie Miller of CB Creatives Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
Servings: 4 to 6
Start to finish: 25 minutes
Sicily is famous for its pistachios, as well as for ricotta cheese. In this recipe, we blend the two, along with fresh basil and chives, to create a simple pesto to toss with al dente pasta.
There’s no need to grate the Parmesan — simply cut it into chunks and toss the pieces into the blender. The pesto is good on a wide variety of pasta shapes, but the hollow centers and
surface ridges of rigatoni do a particularly good job of gripping the rich, creamy sauce.
Ingredients1 pound rigatoni or other short tubular pastaKosher salt and ground black pepper1⅓ cups whole-milk ricotta cheese¾ cup raw pistachios, plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped
pistachios2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve2 ounces Parmesan cheese (without rind), cut into 4 or 5 pieces½ cup lightly packed fresh basil¼ cup roughly chopped fresh
chives
Directions
In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Stir in the pasta and 1 tablespoon salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Reserve 1½ cups of the cooking water, then drain
the pasta and return it to the pot.
In a blender, combine the ricotta, the whole pistachios, oil, Parmesan, basil, chives, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add 1 cup of the reserved pasta water and blend until creamy,
about 1 minute; the pesto should have a consistency similar to yogurt.
Pour the pesto over the pasta and stir, adding more reserved pasta water as needed so the sauce coats the noodles. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve drizzled with additional oil
and sprinkled with the chopped pistachios.
Cook With Christopher Voracious
Two more recipes from Milk Street Noodles for AARP members to try:
Lasagna Bolognese
Our take on the Italian classic was inspired by a version we tasted at Osteria Broccaindosso in Bologna, Italy.
Miso-Walnut Soba with Bok Choy
Nutty, wholesome Japanese buckwheat noodles and bok choy are sauced with a puree of toasted walnuts and miso that delivers a double hit of umami.
Read About Christopher Kimball's cookbook, Milk Street Noodles.
%{postComment}%
More Members Only Access
Watch documentaries and tutorials, take quizzes, read interviews and much more exclusively for members
View More
Unlock Access to AARP Members Edition
Join AARP to Continue Already a Member? Login
AARP NEWSLETTERS
%{ newsLetterPromoText }%
%{ description }%
Subscribe See All NewslettersPrivacy Hub