Natalie Chassay's Zesty Lemon and Pistachio Casarecce Pasta
A bright, flavour-packed twist on pesto that’s made for sharing – especially al fresco.
Welcome to Put on a Spread, a recipe series that takes you inside the kitchens – and dining rooms – of some of our favourite home cooks. For this instalment, chef and cooking teacher Natalie Chassay, shares her divine lemon and pistachio casarecce recipe.
Few things bring people together quite like a bowl of pasta passed around a sun-drenched table. It’s comforting, vibrant, and made to share. With its fresh, zingy flavour and golden pangrattato crunch, this casarecce pasta is a love letter to rustic dining – and the perfect pairing for our new Les Fruits tableware collection.
Inspired by seasonal ingredients and long lunches with friends, this dish is all about contrast: silky, lemony pesto meets roasted pistachios and a salty parmesan bite. It's the perfect dish to whip up for your next dinner party – best enjoyed surrounded by friends and laughter, linen napkins at the ready.
Just like the citrus-bright notes in this recipe, the Citron Napkins, Coasters and Placemats add a playful twist to any setting. Designed to bring an al fresco energy to every meal, they set the scene for entertaining – whether you're dining outdoors or in.
Ingredients
- 1 packet or 500g casarecce pasta
- 250g shelled pistachio nuts, roasted in a hot oven for about 10 minutes until fragrant and crunchy
- Roughly 120g grated parmesan, plus more to serve
- 3 large garlic cloves
- The zest and juice of 2 lemons (or more)
- Roughly a quarter to half a cup of extra virgin olive oil
- Flaky sea salt to taste
- Black pepper to serve
- For the pangrattato, gently pan fry around half a cup of panko breadcrumbs in olive oil until golden brown.
Method
Serves 6
- Roast the pistachio nuts, let them cool a bit before placing in a food processor and coarsely blitz together with the garlic, parmesan, olive oil, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Have a taste and make any adjustments, it should be nutty, salty, super lemony and oily. If you'd like the pesto to be smoother you can definitely pulse more in the food processor until smooth, however I like it to be quite chunky.
- Heat some heavily salted water in a large pot and when boiling, cook the pasta for 2 mins less than packet instructions.
- Tip the pistachio pesto into a large frying pan on low heat.
- When the pasta is about 1 minute from being done, start to ladle some of the starchy pasta water into the pesto, bringing the heat higher and emulsifying the pesto into a creamy sauce. Use about 4 or more generous splashes of the water to loosen up the sauce, then add the pasta in with more pasta water and stir well to coat the pasta in all of that glorious sauce, using as much pasta water as need be to reach a creamy and silky texture.
- Bring the heat down, add more parmesan and lots of black pepper and taste to make any final adjustments. It might need more lemon or more salt, for example.
- Plate up with lots of pangrattato, a slick of olive oil and more grated Parmesan. Enjoy!
For more from Natalie, follow her at @nataliechassay.
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