Going Green

Today, I offer another glimpse into our wonderful autumn trip to Sicily. "Going Green" isn't for St. Patrick (sorry!) but for Sicily's most celebrated nutmeat!

On this trip abroad, for the first time, we all opted to arrive on a Friday instead of the usual Saturday. Why? Because many times we have arrived late and tired on a Saturday, only to learn of a weekend sagra or festival, and we missed it.

Soon into our planning, we discovered that early arrival was a good idea! The Sagra di Pistacchio in the town of Bronte was to take place our very first weekend in Sicily. Bronte is famous for its pistachios - greener than any we see in the United States - and was just on the other side of Mount Etna from where we were staying.

Like many sagre, this one was a small town affair. While there were some tourists, we could see that many local families were out enjoying the festivities. Booths lined the main street, and offered for sale a variety of locally made crafts, foods, preserves and liqueurs. This sagra has kept up with the times; pretty horrific Italo-pop music blasted from loudspeakers along the winding main street.

We each had a wonderful pistachio arancino; these are deep-fried rice balls filled with a creamy pistachio filling. We sampled a pistachio liqueur, pistachio bread, pistachio cake, and a few other mostly-pistachio treats.

There was a pretty demonstration of regional folk dances, and we ducked into museums, beautiful churches, and enjoyed incredible sunshine that first day in Sicily. One of the museum guides we met recommended a restaurant for lunch. Even after testing all those local specialties, we were still up for a nice meal!

Off to Ristorante Pepe Rosa we went. After determining we didn’t have a reservation, our hostess led us up two small sets of stairs, through a vaulted central room, to a back room, where there was a lovely table already set for eight. She explained to us that today’s offering was a three-course festival menu, and we would all be having the same thing… and it included plenty of wine for all!

The menu opened with meat-filled ravioli topped with pistachio pesto. The next course was a succulent pork roast served with pistachio cream and roasted potatoes. The meal finished with large fresh and crisp cannoli with pistachios. The food, service, and ambience were just perfect!

Naturally, we all bought goodies at the festival to bring back… vacuum-packed pistachios, pistachio cream, pistachio pesto, chocolate with pistachio, and pistachio bread. Personally, I looked forward to re-creating the pistachio pesto using the nuts I brought back from Bronte!

Which brings us to today’s recipe: pistachio pesto. It is more delicate than the traditional Genovese pesto, and is made with a milder cheese and no garlic, so as not to overwhelm the subtle flavor of the pistachios.

There is an enduring debate among the locals as to whether the pistachios should be toasted or raw when making this pesto. Having made it both ways, I prefer them lightly toasted. It brings out more flavor from the nuts.

Thanks to Markipedia for this wonderful church interior in Bronte.
Thanks for joining me for another tour of a special little corner of Sicily.

~ David

Pesto di Pistacchio
12 ounces spaghetti
2 ounces shelled pistachios, lightly toasted
1 bunch parsley
3.5 ounces semi-aged pecorino or others sheep’s cheese
extra virgin olive oil, as needed
salt
freshly ground black pepper

First, put water on to boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, make the pistachio and parsley pesto. Wash and dry the parsley well. Add the pistachios, parsley and cheese cut into small cubes into the bowl of a food processor.

Process the ingredients, adding as much oil as needed gradually, until the mixture is smooth and even. Cook the spaghetti and drain quickly, keeping a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water. Transfer pasta to a warmed serving bowl, and mix in the pesto, adding a tablespoon of oil, the two tablespoons of cooking water and a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.

Serves 4.


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