The Professor decided at the spur of the moment to drive one of his sculpture to Bozeman, Montana instead of shipping it for an upcoming show. This meant not only would I have to find endless ways to maintain my sanity during the day, but also in the long evening hours which can turn into an eternity if it is cold and windy and raining. Granted he was only gone one night, which seems pretty pathetic on my part now that I’m writing this all down, but it felt like a month.
In the afternoon of the second day of his impromptu road trip he called to say he would be home in time for dinner—oh thank God! So I searched my pantry for inspiration. I spotted a bag of pistachios which I had bought a couple weeks before to make this rich, nutty pasta recipe I had found on chow.com.
I felt my mood lifting as I chopped and stirred. There are very few ingredients here, but the nuts are so toasty and bold that this dish is way more filling than you would ever expect. The professor arrived home just as I poured the pasta in the boiling water. That evening we decided to forgo our dining room table for the toddler-sized table in the kitchen. Sitting on an amalgam of tiny chairs and stools we tucked into our steaming bowls of pasta and found it’s not so hard to carry on after all.

Pasta with Pistachios and Mint Recipe
Adapted from Chow
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups shelled pistachios, chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely shredded mint leaves
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 pound pasta
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat.
- Meanwhile, combine pistachios, oil, mint, and garlic in a medium bowl and season with salt and black pepper.
- Once water is boiling, add pasta and cook according to package instructions. When pasta is ready reserve 1 cup cooking liquid then drain pasta. Return drained pasta to the pot along with pistachio mixture and half of the reserved cooking liquid. Toss until well coated, if pasta seems dry add more cooking liquid. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 280Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 4g
I love pasta indeed. Thanks for sharing this food.
I can’t wait but to grab and taste this food.