A delicious first course pasta with shrimp and pistachio pesto, an elegant and refined dish with a delightful taste, easy and quick to prepare, perfect for the holidays, both for Christmas Eve and Christmas lunch, and what’s more, it really takes no time, with a good fast homemade pistachio pesto made while bringing the pasta water to a boil. For the pesto, I used salted pistachios to shell, never missing during the holidays, I love them and grab them when I can, so I shelled a few and finely chopped them very quickly just with EVO oil, garlic, and parmesan, then adjusted the consistency with the pasta cooking water, added quite a bit to the pasta to create a nice creamy sauce. I used pre-cleaned shrimp, the frozen ones, but if fresh ones are available, they are even better. Try them too, I leave you the recipe and other delicious first courses for the holidays.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons, Christmas
Ingredients for pasta with shrimp and pistachio pesto
- 7 oz spaghetti
- 5 oz shelled shrimp (about 12 shrimp)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1.25 oz pistachios
- EVO oil as needed (about 0.5 oz)
- 0.35 oz parmesan
- as needed Oil for the shrimp
- ground pepper
- as needed pistachio crumbs
Tools for preparing pasta with shrimp and pistachio pesto
- 1 Pot
- 1 Wok
- 1 Cooking spatula
- 1 Food processor
- 1 Ladle
Steps to prepare pasta with shrimp and quick homemade pistachio pesto
I immediately put the pot on the stove with the water for the pasta. Then I start preparing the pistachio pesto.
In a food processor, I put the pistachios with a little oil, half a small garlic clove, and some sliced parmesan. I started to blend, then added a bit more oil to achieve the right consistency and creaminess. I adjust the salt only at the end; I didn’t add any as the pistachios are salted.
In a pan or wok, we put a little oil with the remaining garlic, heat slightly over low heat, add the shrimp, and increase the flame. Mine were still frozen. I added salt and pepper, let them defrost and cook for another minute.
I cooked the pasta al dente in boiling salted water, finished cooking in the pan with the shrimp, adding a bit of pasta cooking water. I sautéed for a minute then turned off the flame and added the pistachio pesto, adjusted the creaminess with the pasta cooking water.
We plate and serve, with about 5-6 shrimp per person and a bit of pistachio crumbs for decoration.
