6th
Last time hosting Monday dinners for a little while and, at the risk of sounding smug, it was quite the delight. Spinach pappardelle (recipe) with pistachio pesto and shiitake mushrooms served alongside one of the more random salad assortments this house has seen (greens, peppers, honey roasted peanuts, beets, lemon vinaigrette).
Pistachio Pesto Sauce
- 3 tablespoons regular pesto (I cheated and just defrosted three cubes from my freezer)
- 1/4 cup pistachios
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 2 TB olive oil for consistency
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/3 cup half and half
Add first five ingredients to the food processer (through olive oil) and blend until you have a smooth, uniform consistency. In a separate bowl or a measuring cup, add your yolk and half n half then whisk with a fork till smooth. Heat up a sautee pan over medium heat (preferably the one you did your shiitakes in), and pour the pesto mixture into it. The consistency will spread a bit as it heats up but turn the heat off once it’s warmed through and steaming.
Gradually add the yolk mixture, whisking it into the pesto. Very important to do this a little bit at a time with the heat off so the yolk mix is incorporated without curdling. Once it’s all together in a smooth, beautiful batch, pour it over your freshly drained pasta. We finished with some reggiano and some additional chopped pistachios.
Dessert was another story altogether…and it’s a big one. There’s a bit of news coming soon and the two are not unrelated.
