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Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Burrata Cheese

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These pistachio pesto pasta with burrata cheese make a simple yet audacious weeknight meal.
  • Author: Delphine Fortin
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Savory
  • Diet: Vegetarian

These pistachio pesto pasta with burrata cheese make a simple yet audacious weeknight meal. With just a little twist to your classic pesto sauce recipe, this version with pistachios offers some extra crunchiness, with a mild and slightly sweet flavor. Top with soft and fresh burrata. Amazing!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 lb (450g) spaghetti or other pasta of choice*
  • ¼ cup (40g) pistachios, toasted and lightly salted** (+ extra for serving)
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 cups (500 ml) fresh basil, packed (+ extra for serving)
  • ⅓ cup (80 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup (25g) parmesan cheese, grated
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1–2 ball(s) of burrata cheese***

Instructions

  1. For the pistachio pesto, add pistachio and garlic to a food processor. Pulse a few times, until chopped, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the fresh basil an pulse a few more times, until finely chopped. Stream in the olive oil and process until smooth. Open the food processor, remove the blade, and stir in the grated parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
  2. Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to the package directions. Before draining the pasta, reserve some of the starchy pasta water. Drain the pasta and return to the pot, off the heat.
  3. Add ¼ cup (60 ml) of the pasta water back into the pot with the pesto, and stir to thin the pesto. Toss in the cooked pasta, and mix until the pistachio pesto thoroughly coats it. Serve with torn burrata*** here and there, add extra toasted pistachios and fresh basil leaves. Enjoy!

Notes

* My favorite pasta to coat with pesto are spaghetti, linguine, penne, and rigatoni.

** I like to use ready-to-use toasted and lightly salted pistachio in this recipe. If you use raw pistachio, you can toast them in a non-stick frying pan with no oil for a couple of minutes, shaking the pan often to prevent from burning. Remember to taste and adjust the seasoning, whether the pistachios are already salted or not.

*** For budget reasons, you can substitute the burrata cheese (which is very expensive) with mozzarella cheese instead. Choose it as fresh as possible.

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