Pesto Pasta is one of my favorite dishes! I didn’t know it could get any better until visiting Sicily. A few years ago we visited Mt. Etna which is near Bronte, a small town in northeastern Sicily. Bronte is known for it’s pistachios, referred to as “green gold”. These precious pistachios are picked every other year in order to let the trees rest and rebuild nutrients. Needless to say they were the best pistachios I’ve ever had. As if we hadn’t eaten enough pistachio gelato for the trip, one night my husband ordered a pistachio pesto linguini and shrimp dish for dinner! It was ABSOLUTELY amazing…a dish we still rave about til this day and the inspiration for this recipe.
First off, although the pistachios from Bronte are the best of the best, you do not need to track them down to make this. I use Wonderful lightly salted and not roasted pistachios and they work perfectly in this homemade pesto. I like to make my own pesto, it’s super easy to do and made with clean ingredients. Creamy avocado, Pecorino Romano cheese, fresh spinach, basil and extra virgin olive oil…it’s seriously the best way to top pasta! It will also keep for about 3 days in the refrigerator so you can throw it on other dishes, like my favorite chicken quesadilla recipe!
Can I use Regular Pasta? Feel free to use regular pasta in any shape or form with this dish, it’s pretty versatile. Lately I’ve been trying out different gluten-free pastas. I stumbled upon Taste of Republic Fresh Gluten-free Linguini and it is by far the best one I’ve had. It literally tastes like the real deal, the texture is perfect and bonus..it cooks up in 3 minutes! I’m excited to try out their other noodles, which you can totally substitute here. Other gluten-free pastas I like are Trader Joe’s Yellow Lentil Brown Rice Spaghetti and Brown Rice Quinoa Pasta.
Don’t skimp on the shrimp. The quality of shrimp you get will make or break this recipe! Wild is the way to go, I always get frozen wild caught Gulf shrimp (tail off). You can definitely get fresh, just be sure it doesn’t smell fishy and you use it within a day or so.
Toppings: Finishing this linguini off with some ground pistachio adds a little crunch in each bite. Extra cheese is always a good idea and some lemon zest because lemon and pistachio are a match made in heaven!
This Pistachio Pesto Linguini & Shrimp is to die for! Super easy to make and so full of flavor! Creamy and salty with a little bit of crunch from the fresh pistachio...you will have a dish that feels like Italy in only 20 minutes!
Ingredients
- 18 ounces Linguini (I use Taste of Republic Fresh Gluten-free Linguini)
- 1 pound Raw Wild Gulf Shrimp, tail-off (fresh or frozen)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more for pasta water)
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese, for topping (or parmesan)
- 3 tablespoons Pistachios, for topping (not roasted, unsalted or lightly salted)
- Zest of 1 full lemon, for topping
- 2-3 leaves fresh basil, roughly chopped, for topping
For the Pesto:
- ½ cup fresh basil
- ½ cup fresh spinach
- ½ of a medium avocado
- 2 tablespoons grated, Pecorino Romano cheese (or parmesan)
- 2 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons Pistachios (not roasted, unsalted or lightly salted)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, cook pasta to al dente according to package. *Pasta should be ready just about when shrimp is done so time accordingly, shrimp takes about 3 min to cook.
- Meanwhile, in a food processor roughly grind 5 tablespoons of pistachios. Remove 3 tablespoons and set aside for topping. Add the basil, spinach, avocado, 2 tablespoons of cheese, fresh garlic and 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth, set aside.
- Blot shrimp dry with paper towel if it's wet from thawing. In a small bowl toss shrimp with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When pan is hot add shrimp, cook about 2-2.5 minutes until pink and C-shaped, flip halfway through. Remove from pan immediately and set aside.
- Add pesto to the pan with heat on low and stir for about 30 seconds. Add cooked linguini, shrimp and pistachios to the pan and toss until noodles and shrimp are coated in pesto. Turn off heat and toss in lemon zest, remaining cheese and basil. Serve immediately.
Nutrition: Yield: 6 servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 386 Total Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 179mg, Sodium: 939mg, Total Carbohydrate: 49g, Fiber: 3g, Sugars: 0g, Protein: 24g
