Sicilian state of mind: Pistacchio Lemon Spaghetti
Plus: Milanese historic coffee bar teaser and the inside of my brain when I think about Sicily
Ciao friends,
I can’t wait to tell you about last week’s work event: a tour of historic coffee bars in Milan! It was like being transported back in time to a world of elegant Sunday passeggiate and candied chestnuts and flower petals. Post coming soon. Sneak peek photos below.
But for now, it’s the end of the school year here in Italy and there’s no global immunity from the onslaught of end-of-year exams, concerts, saggi, and sports tournaments. We are all tired, ready for summer holiday, and bursting with excitement for our vacation…to my mom’s retirement home in Northern Indiana! My son hasn’t seen his Mimi in 2 years and doesn’t want to leave her side; he only wants to stay with her, play bingo and corn hole, and win candy bar prizes in the senior living games. I’ve been conducting remote reconnaissance of organic farmer’s markets in the area and they asked me to run a pasta class for the residents! This is our kind of adventure, full of love and sharing. Which recipes do you think I should teach?
Back to the present: this week I was craving SICILY and everything about it. On one of the few chilly evenings without a rainstorm this May-vember, I strolled in the center, savoring a cone of creamy almond milk sorbetto, scarf wrapped around my neck, while the kids ran amuck in the dark streets. It assaulted my tastebuds with memories of icy-sweet granita piled high with thick whipped cream and chubby round belly-buttoned brioche breakfasts, and triggered a longing to return to Sicilia. (See photos like sugary Sicilian memories from the inside of my brain below.)
Instead of booking a flight, shall we take a journey to Sicilia together via our tongues and bellies? I’ve hooked us up with a pasta using 2 of the most classic Sicilian ingredients - pistacchio and lemon. It is divine. And it’s also an easy, less than 30 minute meal made with butter and garlic into an intoxicating sauce that made me want to spoon it all into my mouth before I even cooked the pasta. The bright acidity of the lemon balances the rich nutty fats of the pistacchios - so you get a ton of flavor for little and few ingredients. I had forgotten about this pasta and now it’s back in my life, I plan to have it in weekly rotation for the summer.
The pistacchi of Sicilia are legendary, particularly those that grow in the volcanic soil of Bronte, at the base of Mount Etna. These frutta secca or dried fruit, as they are considered in Italy, are so prized for their quality, intense flavor and green color (due to high chlorophyll content) that they are nicknamed “green gold" (1). Pistacchi (pronounced ‘pees-ta-key’, the plural in Italian) are used to make both sweet and savory foods here. My son, boyfriend, and I are superfans of nutty, sweet gelato made of Bronte pistacchi which you can find in a gelateria that really cares about their ingredients. But let’s put a pin in that topic and talk about gelato another day!
To make you many times LESS jealous, even here in Italy it is not easy to purchase Bronte pistacchios due to their high demand. In fact, the pistacchios available in the supermarket are primarily from the United States (California) and Iran. We are, however, able to get Sicilian lemons, which are sweet, very juicy, very little pith (the white part in between the peel and fruit), and smell like lemon candy. Just be sure you choose a lemon that is ‘not treated’ with any pesticides, etc. so you can finely grate and eat the peel in this recipe.
A quick word about knives and chopping pistacchios: I considered making a classic pistacchio pesto this week, which would have smashed the pistacchios together with basil, mint and garlic, but in a test meal, my son and I concluded that we prefer chopped pistacchios to the creamy ‘nut butter’ consistency that pistacchios can render when smushed.
So I rough chopped pistacchios with my beloved mezzaluna, a rounded half-moon-shaped blade that you hold with two hands and rock back and forth. It makes chopping nuts, garlic, and herb efficient and easy without dirtying up an entire food processor and without creating a homogenous puree. If you want one, I found this mezzaluna on Amazon (I don’t get a cut, no pun intended hahaha, I just recommend Made in Italy). If you don’t have a mezzaluna, you can just use a big-bladed knife.
Ready? Let’s mentally transport to the salty sea air, white and pink oleander blooms, and lemony-pistacchio flavors of Sicilia.
pst! Scroll to the very bottom to download recipe pdf!
Spaghetti with pistacchio and lemon
 Spaghetti al pistacchio e limone
FOR 4 PEOPLE
The ingredients
60g / 8 Tbls Butter
2-4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
60g unsalted, shelled pistacchios, - medium chopped so they stick to the pasta
2 untreated lemons, of which you will use:
juice of 1/2 - 1 lemons (depending on how lemony you like)
grated peel of 2 lemons
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
360-400 g spaghetti (*I used buckwheat spaghetti, which has a very light nutty flavor which beautifully complemented the sauce. See more in notes below.)
8 soup spoons of pasta cooking water, reserved
The method
1)    Fill a big tall pot with water and salt and set on high heat stove burner. Taste the water to make sure it’s salty like the sea (as and add more salt if needed.
2)    Melt butter in saucepan/skillet on medium low heat. When it’s melted, add half the olive oil and all the garlic. Stir occasionally and when the garlic starts to turn brown on the edges, infusing the oil and butter with flavor, add the lemon juice, grated lemon rind, and 2/3rds (40 g) of the pistacchios, give a stir, and pull off the heat.
3)Â When the water boils, add the pasta and cook to the package time (al dente), stirring occasionally.
4)Â Just before the pasta is ready, add 8 spoonfuls of pasta water to the butter, garlic and pistacchios over low heat and stir (about 30 seconds).
5) Strain and immediately add pasta to the warm pistacchio-lemon-garlic butter sauce pan. Stir to combine for 30-60 seconds in the pan.
Spoon or tong your pasta into pasta bowls and top with the remaining pistacchios and a drizzle of the extra virgin olive oil.
Buon appetito!
Serving tips:
·      Serve parmigiano if you like, but I didn’t think it needed any!
Notes:
Salt: It’s important not to skimp. This salt is flavoring both your pasta and also your sauce in the form of pasta water.
Pasta: you could also use linguine
*Pasta sleuths: You might notice that the pasta is darker in color than a typical wheat pasta. This is because I used spaghetti di grano saraceno a.k.a. buckwheat! I really try to eat a variety of grains in my diet, not just wheat, and buckwheat pasta is a dream to cook with. It’s light in flavor and very faintly nutty, as well as gluten-free. Have you tried buckwheat pasta? Let me know in the comments!
Buon appetito!
x Lolly
(1) https://www.italia.it/en/sicily/catania/bronte/things-to-do/pistachio-bronte
I was in Sicily last fall and had the most amazing pistachio and lemon pasta. It was so unexpectedly amazing. Much greater than its parts. I am excited to try your recipe!
Love the sound of this Lolly!