Pistachio butter cake
and a pistachio pesto for pasta
Morning everyone!!
It has been SO nice seeing so many of you cooking from GOOD COOKING EVERY DAY, my new cookbook (ICYMI)! Thank you for your support of my work, it really means a lot!
I was due to press send on this newsletter last night, but alas, I fell asleep putting my four year old asleep!! Apologies but it’s worth the wait, I promise!!
Today I’m sharing two lovely recipes all about pistachios. Last week we went on a little family holiday to Byron Bay. We were very grateful to be hosted at one of the most incredible homes I have ever been to. An Italian-style villa about 15 minutes out of Byron, called Lo Scoglio. It felt like Sicily! And so I was so inspired to cook in their beautiful kitchen and found myself with a big bag of pistachios and some ideas.
First I hand rolled some busiate pasta and then I made some pesto with the pistachios. I picked mint and basil from the garden and it was one of the most satisfying lunches I have had in a while. Recipe below :)
Then I wanted to make a cake for everyone and had the idea to make a paste from the pistachios to incorporate into the cake itself and the icing. I’m not sure if my husband, Nori, appreciated peeling a bag full of pistachios on holiday to make a pistachio paste, but it was a lovely task IMO over a glass of Sicilian Carricat. The peeling ensures a bright vivid green colour which, once added into the batter and icing, becomes this beautiful pale green colour. The taste? So pistachio yet so subtle. I’ve made it three more times since coming back! Please seek out the best, most fresh pistachios you can find! Dull yellow ones are old and won’t yield the same results. This one is for paid subs!
Also, because it’s a bit tricky to fully scrape the food processor from the pistachio paste, I added some water to the bowl, blitzed it until clean and it became pistachio milk! I was quite pleased with myself!
And if you want some more Sicily, I’m doing a dinner at Paski in Sydney! Most of the recipes are from my new book, GOOD COOKING EVERY DAY ! Just a few spots left!!
As always, thank you for subscribing <3
Julia x
Pistachio Pesto
Serves 4
Pistachio pesto
150 g raw pistachios
100 g parmigiano reggiano
20 g (a large handful) of basil and mint combined
2 cloves of garlic, flattened with the side of a knife
Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
Salt and pepper, to taste
380 g of your chosen pasta
In the bowl of a food processor, place all of the ingredients, except for the olive oil and seasonings.Blitz to a chunky paste, you don’t want it to become a puree. Transfer to a large bowl and pour in enough olive oil to become a loose paste. Season well to taste.
Cook your chosen pasta to al dente then transfer directly into the bowl with the pesto, using tongs (easier for long pasta) or a sieve (easier for short pasta). Add a ladleful of the pasta water and begin to toss the pasta in the pesto, adding more water as needed to create a silky and luscious sauce.
Pistachio butter cake
Serves 8-12
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