Pistachio Pesto Rigatoni
Rigatoni tossed in a vibrant, nutty Sicilian-inspired pesto of roasted pistachios, baby spinach, fresh mint, and Parmesan cheese.
- Original yieldYield
- 4 servings4 servings
- PrepPrep time
- CookCook time
- TotalTotal time
Published Updated
Original recipe: 4 servings
The story behind the recipe
Mint is the first aroma that rises from this bowl of warm rigatoni. Underneath it are roasted pistachios, Parmesan and garlic, with spinach giving the pesto its leafy body and green color. Small pieces of nut remain in the sauce, collecting along the pasta's ridges and inside its wide tubes.
The Sicilian connection
Pistachios have a well-established place in Sicilian cooking, in savory sauces as well as sweets. Visit Sicily's food guide describes Bronte pistachios used both in sweet cream and in pesto for pasta. That's the connection behind this Sicilian-inspired bowl. Spinach and mint make the sauce here a contemporary variation, with a different character from a basil pesto.
The recipe uses ordinary roasted salted pistachios; you don't need to seek out a particular protected-origin nut. Buy them shelled if you want the preparation to fit the short schedule. Shelling enough for the sauce is an extra job, and the weight on a bag of in-shell nuts includes a lot that won't reach the processor.
Roasting gives the nuts a pronounced flavor before they meet the leaves. The mint is equally noticeable, so measure its leaves after removing the stems. Spinach adds a milder background. Increasing the mint just to deepen the color would change the taste much more than adding the same amount of spinach.
Read more about this recipe
Leave some texture
A pesto with tiny pieces of nut feels different from a perfectly smooth green sauce. Brief processing preserves that texture while making the mixture fine enough to cling to pasta. Parmesan adds salt and savory flavor; olive oil carries the chopped ingredients together.
The thick paste needs loosening when it meets the rigatoni. Reserved pasta water gives it enough liquid to spread, and you can add it gradually while watching the coating. Pouring all the water in at once makes it harder to stop at the consistency you want.
Keep that final toss off the heat. The pasta is already warm enough to take the chill off the pesto, and fresh mint doesn't need a simmer to become fragrant. A green sauce sitting in a hot pan while you lay the table loses some of the immediacy that makes this dinner appealing.
Almonds and walnuts make good but different pestos, as the notes explain. For this bowl, a few extra crushed pistachios on top are a better way to emphasize the nut you chose than a large additional handful of cheese.
Make it your wayOriginal: 4 servings
Original recipe: 4 servings
Ingredients
For 4 servings. Quantities are shown as written.
Source measurement convention: Metric. Explicit unit definitions take precedence; unconfirmed measures must be checked before conversion.
Original quantities for 4 servings.
- Dry rigatoni pasta250 g
- Shelled roasted salted pistachios60 g
- Fresh baby spinach leaves60 g
- Fresh mint leaves (stems discarded)15 g
- Medium garlic, peeled1 clove
- Extra-virgin olive oil80 ml
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese25 g
- Starchy pasta cooking water (reserved before draining)80 ml
- Fine sea salt2 gAuthor measures: 1/2 metric tsp (1 metric tsp = 5 ml).
- Salt, as needed for pasta cooking water
- Extra grated Parmesan or crushed pistachios, optionalGarnish
Measurement notes
Measurement notes
Original ingredients
- 250 g dry rigatoni pasta
- 60 g shelled roasted salted pistachios
- 60 g fresh baby spinach leaves
- 15 g fresh mint leaves (stems discarded)
- 1 medium garlic clove, peeled
- 80 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 25 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 80 ml starchy pasta cooking water (reserved before draining)
- 2 g (1/2 tsp) fine sea salt
- Salt, as needed for pasta cooking water
- Garnish: extra grated Parmesan or crushed pistachios, optional
Equipment
4-liter pasta pot
Food processor- Tongs
Colander
Instructions
Cook the rigatoni and reserve cooking water
Fill a large 4-liter pot with water, add salt for the cooking water, and bring to a rolling boil over high heat while you gather the pesto ingredients. Add the dry rigatoni pasta and cook according to the package until al dente, about 10 to 12 minutes. Before draining, reserve at least 80 ml of hot pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
Gather the pesto ingredients in the processor
While the pasta boils, prepare the pesto. In the bowl of a food processor, place the shelled roasted salted pistachios, fresh baby spinach leaves, fresh mint leaves, garlic clove, and fine sea salt.
Blend the pistachio pesto
Pulse 8 to 10 times until the nuts and greens are coarsely chopped. With the motor running, slowly stream in the extra-virgin olive oil until a textured, vibrant green paste forms. Add the freshly grated Parmesan cheese and pulse 2 to 3 times to incorporate.
Add pesto to the drained pasta
Return the hot drained rigatoni to the warm, empty pasta pot off the heat. Scrape all of the pistachio pesto directly over the pasta.
Toss with cooking water
Pour in 40 ml of the reserved pasta cooking water. Toss vigorously with tongs for 1 minute, adding additional pasta water splash by splash until the pesto loosens into a sauce that coats the rigatoni.
Garnish and serve
Divide among warm bowls, garnish with extra grated Parmesan or crushed pistachios if desired, and serve immediately.
Estimated calories 500 kcal
Nutrition portion: 1/4 of recipe · Original yield: 4 servings
Source & assumptions
Ingredient-based estimate using CoFID 2021. Approximately 500 kcal per nutrition portion. Uses dry durum pasta and includes all pesto oil, nuts and cheese. Full pasta-input energy is counted, so draining losses can lower the estimate; optional garnish is excluded. Ingredients, brands and preparation affect values.
Recipe notes
Original recipe notes
These notes describe the original recipe. Quantities mentioned here do not change when you adjust servings.
Herb finish: Spinach gives the pesto its green color and softens the mint flavor. Toss with the pasta off heat to keep the fresh herbs from cooking in the pot.
Nut alternatives: Toasted almonds or walnuts are alternatives if pistachios are unavailable; they will change the pesto's flavor.
Storage: Refrigerate fresh pesto promptly in a sealed container at 4°C (40°F) or below and use within 3 days, or freeze. A layer of oil does not extend that refrigerator allowance.
Read the scaling guide. Times, temperatures and equipment need their own consideration. Open the recipe tool to review and correct individual amounts.
Recipe details
- Course or meal
- DinnerMain course
- Cuisine
- Italian
- Browse category
- Main Dishes
- More details
- pistachio pesto rigatonimint pesto