Two of the most important ingredients in the Sicilian kitchen are ricotta and pistachios. Both are used in desserts and pasta recipes. This Sicilian ricotta and pistachio pasta is a delicious example of how beautifully these two typical foods can be used together to make a divine creamy plate of pasta.
Occhi di Lupo con ricotta e pistacchi alla Siciliana.
Ricotta in Sicily.
Ricotta is made and eaten throughout Italy. However, it’s more prevalent in Sicilian cuisine than in other regional cuisines.
Cheese making is an ancient tradition in Sicily. In fact, some say that cheese making in Europe originated in Sicily. Of all the cheeses produced on the island, ricotta is probably the most used in the Sicilian kitchen.
Ricotta is actually a whey cheese obtained by reheating the whey left over from the production of other cheeses made with sheep, goat or cow’s milk. Did you know that the word 'ricotta' means recooked?
In Sicily, they make different kinds of ricotta. These include ricotta salata which involves dry-salting the surface and aging the cheese for 10-30 days. This cheese is often grated on to pasta dishes and is an essential ingredient in pasta alla Norma.
Then there is ricotta affumicata (smoked ricotta) and ricotta infornata, which is made with fresh ricotta placed into ceramic vessels and oven-baked for a day or more, giving the cheese a thin reddish-brown crust.
Ricotta in the Sicilian Kitchen.
Ricotta, especially sheep ricotta, is the queen of the island's patisseries. Sicilians use it in many cakes and desserts including cassata, cannoli, cassatele and even ice cream. Of course, there are a lot of Sicilian pasta with ricotta dishes too. The most traditional is with just ricotta and perhaps some nutmeg. However, many include other ingredients like fava beans, almonds, eggplant or even ragu.
This Sicilian pasta with ricotta recipe has pistachio pesto in it! Pistachios are also an important ingredient in the Sicilian kitchen.
Pistachios in Sicily.
Sicily is the only Italian region that cultivates the real pistachio (pistacia vera). The best and greatest quantity of pistachios in Sicily come from the town of Bronte. In fact, pistachios from Bronte are considered to be among the best in the world and are actually the most expensive!
Bronte is a town I have visited on numerous occasions with my Sicilian hubby. Actually, the pistachios I used for this Sicilian ricotta and pistachio pasta recipe were from Bronte! Of course, not everyone can find Sicilian pistachios! However, any good quality raw pistachio kernels work well too. If raw pistachios aren’t available you can try toasted ones, but preferably unsalted.
In Bronte, pistachios grow in volcanic soil, on the sun baked terrain of Mount Etna and the Nebrodi mountains. The harvest takes place every two years between the end of August and beginning of September and is an important event for the town’s population. Even today, the pistachios are harvested by men, women and children who climb the slopes to pick the nuts, one at a time.
Like ricotta, pistachios are used in Sicily to make ice-cream and many cakes. Sicilians also use them to make granita (a kind of sorbet), a pistachio liqueur and a green Nutella! However, probably the most well-known savoury pistachio recipes are pistachio pesto and this creamy pasta with ricotta and pistachio.
Making this Sicilian ricotta and pistachio pasta.
I have already posted another recipe for pistachio pesto on its own with scialatielli pasta. In this recipe however, you cream the ricotta with the pasta cooking water and then mix it with a simple pistachio pesto. This is a super easy recipe that only takes as long as it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.
The pasta.
I used a typical Southern Italian pasta tube called occhi di lupo, meaning wolf’s eyes. You can read more about this pasta if you visit my occhi di lupo post. A number of different Italian pasta makers make these largish pasta tubes.
The ones I used were from Di Martino, one of the companies who produce Pasta di Gragnano IGP. If you want to know more about pasta from this town near Naples, take a look at my post about my visit to Gragnano.
Other types of pasta tubes also go well in this recipe. In Sicily, they often use ditali or small pasta shells. However you can use penne, sedani or any other small to medium sized pasta tube. Whichever pasta you use, I'm sure you are going to love this creamy dish. It's easy to make and quite light, so great for warm weather meals too!
If you make this pasta recipe, I’d love to hear how it turns out and if you liked it. Please leave a comment here on the blog or on The Pasta Project Facebook page.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Buon appetito!
Some of the other pasta recipes with ricotta on The Pasta Project.
- Classic baked pasta shells filled with spinach and ricotta
- Pasta shells with tuna and ricotta.
- Linguine with mint pesto and ricotta
- Tuscan spinach and ricotta gnudi (gnocchi)
- Ricotta and basil filled paccheri
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Have a look at my other ricotta pasta recipes for more delicious recipes like this one!
Sicilian ricotta and pistachio pasta
Ingredients
- 400 g occhi di lupo pasta (140z) or other pasta tube
- 400 g fresh ricotta (14oz) traditionally sheep ricotta but cow's milk ricotta works too.
- 200 g pistachios (7oz) raw kernels
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 50 g Parmigiano cheese (2oz) grated. Vegetarians should use vegetarian parmesan.
- salt for pasta and to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Put a pot of water onto boil for the pasta. Add salt once the water starts to boil and
bring to the boil again.
If your pistachios are unpeeled, put them into a bowl of boiling water for 2-3 minutes, drain them and wipe them with a cloth to remove some of the skin covering them.
Save a few pistachios and put the rest in a blender or food processor, add the grated cheese and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Blend/pulse until you have a rough dense pesto. If necessary add more olive oil but as little as possible.
Cream the ricotta in a food processor or with a fork. Put it in a large pan (big enough to hold the cooked pasta too)
Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet.
Just before the pasta is ready, take half a cup of the cooking water and add to the
ricotta. Stir it in until you have a creamy sauce. Add salt to taste. Then add
the pistachio pesto and stir that in too until it’s totally incorporated in the
sauce.
Save a cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. Add it to the pan with the
sauce. Add some of the saved pasta cooking water if the sauce seems dry (although it shouldn’t be).
Mix the pasta and the sauce together well. Add ground black pepper. Serve immediately with a few whole pistachios and extra grated cheese if required.
Notes
Nutrition
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Christa says
Wonderful recipe! I added lemon peel to the pesto and it worked so well!
Jacqui says
So happy to hear this Sicilian pasta recipe was a hit! We love it too (especially my Sicilian husband!).
Christine says
this looks fabulous! can you make the pesto the day before? am thinking of serving this for a Sicilian dinner party and need to make as much as possible ahead
Jacqui says
Hi Christine, thanks for your comment. Yes of course you can make the pesto the day before. The best is to keep it sealed in a glass jar in the fridge with a thin layer of olive oil on the top. Do let me know how your Sicilian ricotta and pistachio pasta turns out if you make it. All the best from Verona!
Kathryn R says
La ricetta bedda! As good as we had in Sicily... too bad Bronte nuts are hard to find in the US (and expensive!)
Jacqui says
Happy to hear you liked this recipe Kathryn! Yes pistachios from bronte really are good but sadly not easily available outside of Italy! However, aslong as you can find raw kernels this dish is still yummy!
Nisha says
Creamy and delicious pasta , nice to know details about ricotta cheese as well.
RaquelOrtiz says
I was in Sicily this past October/November 2019, I loved the Pistachio Pasta making it tonight.
Jacqui says
Pistachio with pasta is a classic in Sicily. I always have it when I'm there and buy pistachios to bring home. Hope it turned out well for you!
April says
This was pretty good. I cut the recipe in half for just the two of us. I couldn't find unsalted raw pistachios anywhere, so I used roasted salted pistachios that I soak and rinsed and it turned out fine. I think next time I'll add pancetta or at least bacon bits.
Jacqui says
Hi April, thanks for your comment. I'm glad you liked this recipe. I haven't made it with roasted salted pistachios so I can't compare but good idea to soak them! Pancetta or bacon bits would be a yummy addition!
Michelle Pomeroy says
April I always have a hard time finding unsalted pistachios so I just cut bad on the salt I add at the end. My favorite place to get this dish in Sicily used some thing similar to Canadian bacon so that's what I add chopped in pieces and it's amazing!!
Dianne says
we just returned from Catania, SIcily,, the pistachio pasta was one of our favorite dishes,,also the Pasta Norma too,, we will be trying this once I pick up the ingredients,,Thank you,, Dianne
We actually visited Mount Etna,,
our daughter and her family live there,,
Denis Lynch says
Excellent recipe! That one picture of the finished dish in the pan is how mine finished. The photos of the plated dish look less creamy and delicious, as though they had been allowed to sit for too long.
A recipe with so few ingredients is always a delight. Here, there's a beautiful fruity pistachio note that would easily masked. This will definitely be a standard in our kitchen!
Jere Cassidy says
I loved reading about the pistachios, I only use pistachios in sweet desserts so making the sauce with pistachios sounds delicious.
Barbie's Beauty Bits says
You are making me hungry. I will be trying some of these this weekend. Thanks!
Heather Behrends says
What a lovely recipe! I never would have thought to add pistachios to a pasta dish, but my husband will go crazy for this! Also, I loved learning more about the ingredients (and Italy)...my mouth is watering and my feet are itching to travel!
Ashley Frederick says
Such a simple recipe! It looks really good! I'm adding this to my list of recipes to try!