Vegetarian
Homemade tagliatelle with pistachio pesto
Sicilian cooking is all about using simple, fresh ingredients, and homemade pasta has to be one of the most satisfying dishes to accomplish. Our recipe here will show you how to make your own tagliatelle – it’ll be the freshest pasta you’ve ever tasted.
Making your own pasta may seem a lot of effort, but it’s well worth it. It can also be an incredibly mindful activity, helping to take your mind off your daily to-do list and into the present moment.
Serve with fresh, homemade pesto for a simple and flavoursome accompaniment. Our recipe here uses a delicious pistachio pesto. Pistachios are an excellent source of healthy fats and protein. They also contain a number of antioxidants – vital for helping to mop up damaging free radical molecules in our cells.
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Ingredients
For the pesto
- 150g pistachios
- 120ml olive oil of choice
- 4-5 leaves fresh basil
- 30g Parmesan
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 lemon, juice and zest
- Salt and pepper
For the pasta
- 250g durum flour
- 125ml water (35°C/85°F temp)
To serve
- 70g ricotta cheese
Method
- Blend all the ingredients for the pesto together in a food processor, adding more olive oil to loosen the mixture if necessary.
- To make the pasta, dissolve the salt in tepid water in a jug. Into a large bowl, add the flour and pour in the salted water. Mix with a fork until it just comes together and then start to knead by hand (or use a dough hook, which will take less time) for 10-15 minutes until you have a smooth dough. If you prefer, you can turn out the dough on to a floured surface to knead.
- To check if it’s ready to use, press your thumb firmly into the dough and the imprint should not start to spring back. When rolling pasta, work on a cool, floured surface and keep the dough you’re not using covered with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out.
- Roll the pasta out thinly. If it’s sticky let it dry for 5-10 minutes. Using a sharp knife and a straight edge, cut 1cm strips out of the dough. You can experiment with different shapes of pasta, just try not to work the dough too much.
- To cook the pasta, boil some salted water and put the pasta in for a few minutes until it’s cooked through. Mix the pistachio pesto through the freshly cooked tagliatelle and crumble over the ricotta cheese.
