Have you ever made deep-of-summer pesto? Do you ever sit and sip and read poetry on a warm night?
Many years ago I discovered my love of both and as I made pesto a few days ago using the emerald-green basil from our garden I remembered how much I love the prose-like poetry of Diane Wakoski. Especially a book of her poems entitled “Emerald Ice”. The selection above is from the first few lines of the first poem in this collection.
So here is a quick pesto using deep-green Basil leaves, a bit of sassy-green Arugula and the slightest-green pistachios. Tossed with a hearty & hollow Trotolle pasta…the pesto seeping onto and into the noodles…edible poetry!
A few handfuls of Basil leaves & Arugula, fresh lime juice, shelled pistachios & a good olive oil is all you need.
Emerald green pesto……
…tossed with some al dente Trotolle, also called “spins” as they look like little spinning tops. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan. This is pretty much…along with love…all you need.
Emerald Pesto tossed with Trottole Pasta
Ingredients:
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves
- 1 handful fresh arugula leaves
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup good olive oil
- 8 to 12 ounces Trottole pasta noodles cooked al dente (or any other short pasta)
- additional shredded Parmesan cheese to top
- salt & black pepper optional (the lime juice and Parmesan will add a natural saltiness)
Directions:
- Place the pistachios in a food processor and pulse a few times.
- Add basil and arugula leaves. Pulse again 2 or 3 times.
- Add Parmesan and lime juice and pulse.
- With the processor running quickly drizzle in olive oil to your liking.
- Scrape finished pesto out of the processor bowl into a jar. Toss some of the pesto with hot, cooked & drained Trottole pasta. Scatter additional Parmesan cheese over the top of each serving and enjoy. Salt & pepper if desired.
Store any leftover pesto in a jar in the refrigerator or freezer for later use. I usually make extra while I am at it and freeze small jars for winter dishes.
I will definitely have to try this….a great twist on the traditional pesto!
This is so easy and you can really use any combination of “greens”…spinach, basil, arugula, kale…Thanks for stopping by.
Just made a zucchini-artichoke-tomato lasagna with traditional pesto tonight. This one sounds delish! Just ordered Emerald Ice from Amazon. Did not know Diane Wakowski and am looking forward to reading more of her work. Thank you for triple inspirations Teresa: gorgeous photography, interesting recipe with a side of poetry. Love it all!
Teresa, do you know the blog “Thyme”? Sarah, the blogger, is the wife of friend’s cousin and her photography is absolutely breathtaking. I think you would love it. She doesn’t post often but each post is a gem. I keep forgetting to mention it to you.
Johanne, let me know what you think about her poetry when you have read a bit. Also I do not know “Thyme”, but will go over right now at your recommendation. As you can tell I am a fan of photography and I appreciate your sharing this with me. Have a great day.
Johanne I went over and signed up to follow your blogging suggestion “Thyme”….beautiful, just beautiful and thanks so much for the suggestion. Great discovery.
I knew it would appeal to you Teresa! You are 2 of the best blog photographers out there with a similar eye for natural beauty. Infrequent posts but each a gem.
looks great
Thanks very much.
I simple adore Pesto! Your post made me want to try the recipe out (And I have to admit, I’m not that big a fan of pasta!) I look forward to your Red Pesto recipes 🙂
The pesto looks great! I have a bunch of different pesto recipes pinned on Pinterest to try and I’ll add this one to the lineup
Thank you very much. I will check out your pinterest pesto board! Sounds delicious.
Beautiful photography! I will have to try this recipe. Looks fantastic!
It is so easy and good and just the thing for summer dinners when it is too hot to spend much time in the kitchen.
Gorgeous. So happy I subscribed to your beautiful blog. Lisa
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 01:16:35 +0000 To: lisahachey@hotmail.com
Lisa, Welcome to Food on Fifth. It is always so wonderful to hear from a new reader.
roses are red, violets are blue, pesto is a wonder, and so are you.
Well, I do try you know to be a wonder and a wonderful friend! Muchas gracias, T.
I’ll have to add pistachios to my next pesto…your pasta looks great.
It is a nice sub for pine nuts…a slightly different flavor which is always interesting. Thanks Karen.
WOW!!!! can’t wait to be home so I can eat all this delicious food
That green is beautiful.
I cannot wait for you to be home and sample some of the kitchen delights I have been conjuring up this summer in your absence. Santa Fe is nice, but it doesn’t have my pesto. Are you bringing fresh New Mexico peppers this year? It is time I think. Big love, T
Your photos are gorgeous! I love pasta and pesto. I’ve never used pistachios but am sure it would be delicious!
never thought of lime + pasta. lemon, yes, but limes — could be interesting!
Thanks HostessAtHeart and Mary…The lime juice is a really wonderful “brightener” for the pesto…I was out of lemons which I usually use so tried the lime juice and it was fantastic. If you try it let me know what you think. Thank you both for stopping by.
I just made some pesto yesterday. My basil had been in the fridge for several days and the leaves started to turn black. Is there a good way keeping the basil fresh? I love the poem and your post .
You know Gerlinde that is one of the hazards of Basil in the cooler. I usually do not rinse, but just gently shake off any debris from my basil, dampen a paper towel and loosely wrap the basil in this and pop it into a zip lock bag until I am ready to use. It is just one of those herbs that need to be used pretty quickly. Also I sometimes put my basil into a glass of water and tent it with a plastic bag and store in the fridge until I am ready to use within a couple of days. All this depends on how fresh it was to begin with of course. Thanks so much for coming by to see me.
Thanks for all the good tips.
hi Terese–like you, I have grown weary of pine nut based pestos, and am preferring ones made with walnuts, almonds, or pistachios. cool pasta shape!
I know that pasta shape just got me excited…I love it and had never seen it before. Believe it or not I picked it up at Publix! Not Eataly or Lazzaroli’s…just plain old Publix!
It’s fun to make pesto out of all kinds of nuts that are not as oily as pine nuts isn’t it?
Interesting recipe 🙂 and I love your photos
Thanks and I am happy you enjoy my photos. Other than making recipes for Food on Fifth, I so enjoy the photography part as well.
It looks so yummy and the color beautiful! 🙂
Beautiful photos. I love the addition of pistachios!
Love this pistachio pesto. Thank you for letting us feature your pine nut pesto recipe and pictures on our website!
My pleasure. It is so simple, fresh and easy and what would a good summer be without a few great Basil plants? Not much I say..
I’m so glad I stumble upon your blog! I’m definitely going to make this for my toddler 🙂 Thank you.
So glad I came upon your blog today – amazing photos and delightful creations. I will definitely be back for more 🙂
On looking at these lovely photos and almost tasting the pesto I realise how we deny ourselves this pleasure! We should eat it at least every week-it’s heavenly. thanks for sharing
I love pistachio pesto! It is my favorite variation!
Reblogged this on Royal Graffiti.