Double green pesto

Surpirse, surprise... I was supposed to be having fun today, enjoying some fresh air at the seaside as I told you in my previous post,  but nothing to do. If it is not kids that are not feeling well, then it's the big "kid", aka my husband. We spent a pleasant afternoon walking around the town after lunch yesterday, but after we got home, he started burning with fever. This morning I took him to the doctor, nothing serious, just very sore throat that requires antibiotics therapy, but considering that he was at home whole past week with the same stomach virus that the kids had, well, it's not fun, definitely. And considering that men suffer every illness more intensely, you'd rather think he was dying this morning.

I made this pesto last week, precisely while they were all ill and had to follow a rather simple and bland diet, in order to have something for myself that was quick to prepare, so I could season that same plain pasta they were eating.
And I really liked it, it had a little milder taste than basil pesto, but very tasty since I love both arugula and pistachios. I think that blanching helped the arugula lose  a little bit of it's bitterness.
So here it is, Arugula green and Pistachio green together.
I served it over some pasta, adding some fresh robiola cheese and cherry tomatoes, it's definitely going to be one of the frequent dishes this summer... and here I'm hoping that my arugula will grow happily on my balcony.

Penne with Arugula and Pistachio Pesto

Arugula and pistachio pesto

* 100 g arugula
* 40 g pistachios
* 3-4 spoonfuls of grated Parmigiano cheese
* Extra virgin olive oil
* salt

Wash the arugula and blanche it in a small pot of boiling, slightly salted water - 40-45 seconds.
Drain it and let it cool a little bit. Then using a stick blender purée the arugula until creamy.
Set aside.
Put the pistachios in a mortar and using a pestle grind them as finely as you like.
Add the Parmigiano cheese and a little salt first, and then the oil (I didn't really measure the quantity of oil, but rather relied on my taste, however, 2 or 3 spoonfuls probably).
Mix in the arugula purée and blend everything together. Taste to see if you need more salt or oil. I don't like oil to prevail over  arugula and pistachios, so I added just enough to make a creamy emulsion.
If not using immediately, store it in a glass jar, add a little more oil on top and keep refrigerated for a couple days.

Pesto di rucola e pistacchi


* 100 g di rucola
* 40 g di pistacchi sgusciati
* 3-4 cucchiai di Parmigiano grattugiato
* olio extra vergine d'oliva
* sale


Scottate la rucola nell'acqua bollente, leggermente salata per 40-45 secondi. Scolatela e lasciatela intiepidire. Frullatela usando un frullatore a immersione per ottenere una crema liscia.
Mettete i pistacchi nel mortaio e pestateli fino a ridurli in polvere.
Aggiungete il Parmigiano e un po' di sale, e in seguito anche l'olio (ho messo circa 2-3 cucchiai, ma vi consiglio di aggiungerlo gradualmente, secondo i vostri gusti).
Unite anche la crema di rucola e mescolate bene. Aggiustate se necessario di sale e olio.
Se non lo userete subito, conservatelo in un vasetto di vetro nel frigo, per un paio di giorni.

Pesto od rikule e pistacija


* 100 g rikule
* 40 g očišćenih pistacija
* 3-4 žlice naribanog parmezana
* maslinovo ulje
* sol


Rikulu operite i ubacite u posudu s ključalom, malo posoljenom vodom. Kuhajte ne više od 40-45 sekundi.
Ocijedite je i ostavite da se prohladi.
Prohlađenu rikulu smrvite štapnim mikserom u glatku kremu.
Stavite pistacije u mužar (avan) i smrvite ih što sitnije.
Dodajte mrvicu morske sole i naribani parmezan, nastavite miješati i dodajite pomalo maslinovo ulje dok ne dobjete glatku kremicu. Nisam točno mjerila koliko sam ulja dodala, išla sam po osjećaju, ali otprilike 2-3 žlice.
Umiješajte sad i kremu od rikule.
Dotjerajte okus i gustoću po želji - ako je potrebno još soli, ili ako je pregusto dodajte još ulja ili malo vode u kojoj se kuhala rikula.
Želite li pesto malo "jačeg" okusa dodajte i pola češnja češnjaka - smrvite ga zajedno s pistacijama i parmezanom.

Penne s pestom od rikule i pistacija, s robiolom i rajčicama

Greetings from Modena ^__^

from Parco Ducale Estense in Modena