Green Olive Pesto Pasta
A delicious rich and chunky pesto with a Mediterranean flavor twist from green olives. Enjoy on its own or build it up to a simple pasta dish with the veggies and protein of your choice.
Ingredients
- ½ cup (70 g) pitted whole green olives
- ⅓ cup (40 g) pistachios, toasted
- ⅓ cup (35 g) pecorino cheese , grated
- 2 cloves garlic
- Juice of 1 small lemon
- 2 cups (50 g) fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 10 oz (280 g) spaghetti, or any other pasta shape you wish
Instructions
- First, we will toast the pistachios. Heat a cast iron or stainless steel pan (no oil – keep the pan dry) over a low-medium heat and add the pistachios to the pan. Toast until they are fragrant and starting to brown – you will want to mix them up a couple of times during this process.
- Set your spaghetti boiling according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, you can blend prep the pesto. Add the pistachios and all other ingredients except the olive oil into a small food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped, then add the olive oil slowly while blending until you get the consistency you like (for me, that's fairly chunky but you can make it smoother if you wish).
- Once the pasta is cooked al dente, reserve a cup full of the pasta water and drain. Add the pasta and the pesto to a mixing bowl and use tongs to mix it together. Use splashes of pasta cooking water as needed to loosen it up and help the pesto stick to the pasta.
- Scoop onto plates and serve.
Use the smallest bowl of your food processor, or a mini chopper, to blend this pesto.
Calories: 509kcal, Carbohydrates: 60g, Protein: 15g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 15g, Cholesterol: 9mg, Sodium: 369mg, Potassium: 356mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 783IU, Vitamin C: 18mg, Calcium: 154mg, Iron: 2mg