Gnocchetti with Pistachio Pesto, Chorizo & Mushroom

As you may have noticed, I have been posting a lot about bread lately, due to the requirements of Panasonic Singapore (sponsor of the Best Cooking Blog category in the 2014 Singapore Blog Awards) to produce 3 recipes using their Bread Maker. Please don't forget to vote! You can do so EVERYDAY, till JULY 31! Please click on the links below to do so.

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But contest or no contest, life goes on for MySuit&Apron, and my weekly recipe posts shall continue.  So what shall it be this week? I consulted the whole family last night and showed them my 20 draft posts, and they voted for this pasta. I'm the official "pasta chef" in the family and it's one of my most favourite things to cook. This time it's Gnocchetti with Pistachio Pesto, Chorizo & Mushroom. Of course, if you don't have gnocchetti, you can substitute with any pasta you have at hand.

The recipe is a twist on the usual pesto which is made from basil leaves, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic and oil. Pine nuts are sooo expensive here in Singapore, that I feel guilty just grinding them and "hiding" them in the sauce. Thus, I substituted that with pistachio nuts but still used whole, toasted pine nuts to mix with the pasta. This way, you can really taste the pine nuts with every bite. The combination with chorizo (and that delicious, orange lard that goes with it) makes this dish so flavourful. A little sinful, but hey, live a little, right?

GNOCCHETTI WITH PISTACHIO PESTO, CHORIZO & MUSHROOM
Serves 8

PISTACHIO PESTO
30 grams fresh basil leaves, packed
4 cloves garlic, minced
125 grams cubed parmesan cheese (From the block; not that commercialised green plastic bottle!)
100 grams pistachio nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
Dash of pepper and salt

PASTA
500 grams Gnocchetti Pasta (or any kind of pasta for that matter)
Huge pot of water with 2 tablespoons of salt, for cooking the pasta
210 gram can of Chorizo de Bilbao (I use the Philippine brand Purefoods, which packs the chorizos into this rich, orange tinged lard), cut into small, coin like pieces
100 grams pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan (with no oil)
2 cups mushrooms (I used white shimeiji)
1/2 teaspoon chili (more or less, to taste)
1 1/2 beef bouillon cubes
Pepper, to taste

PROCEDURE:

1. Prepare the pesto by blending together all the ingredients in a food processor. No need to cut the basil leaves into small pieces. Just cut the parmesan block into 1 cm pieces to make it easier. Set aside.

This is midway through the blending process.

It's done, after a few minutes of pulsing.

2. In the meantime, cook your pasta. Drop it into the pot once you get a rolling boil.

I used gnocchetti pasta, which are small shells with ridges at the back. Perfect for the pesto sauce to get into those tiny ridges and the hollow of the shell.

3.  When your pasta is almost al dente, start cooking the sauce.  Get the lard from the chorizo and heat it up. Add the chorizo pieces and cook until slightly brown.

4.  Add the mushrooms and the bouillon. Mix well and cover and cook for a few minutes. Lower the fire.

White shimeji mushrooms.

5. When your pasta is done, add it to the sauce. Make sure you reserve some pasta water, as you may need it when the sauce becomes dry. Mix well and make sure each gnocchetti is coated with the reddish oil from the chorizos.

6. Add the fresh pistachio pesto, and mix well. Turn off the fire. Add the toasted pine nuts. Season with pepper and chili flakes.

Serve in a pasta bowl and add ribbons of parmesan cheese. Enjoy!