Pasta with silverbeet cream and pistachio pesto

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If you have a blog and would like to join in, write a post about it, use the logo and let the Doveconviene.it team know by sending them an email here, and then they will plant a tree for your blog.

I did this in June 2011 (you can find the post -in Italian- here), and so far they have planted 927 trees, but if they get to 1000 trees by the end of February iPlantatree.org will plant 100 more trees for them.

And now the pasta recipe!

Pick the silverbeet from your veggie garden (or buy it!), as much as you can, since it goes down a lot! I used young tender leaves of rainbow chard. Sauté with olive oil, one sliced shallot and salt. Cover and cook in its own steam (if you pick it fresh it will have enough water, otherwise you will need to add a little). Once it is cooked blend everything with an immersion blender until you get a dark green 'cream'.

To make the pesto I used some basil (from the garden), garlic, salt, olive oil and this ground pistachios that a Slow Food friend gave me in Italy. I really love this product, you can put it on pasta, in sauces and dips, and desserts! 

 To assemble: I cooked the pasta al dente, then tossed it in the pan with the silverbeet cream, then dished it, added a slice of ricotta on top, a tsp of pistachio pesto, a drizzle of olive oil and fresh basil leaves. Simple, and very green!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©