Sicilian pasta with pistachios and fresh mint is a refreshing dish when you want to try something a little bit different. Join Eric from Simply Elegant Home Cooking as he demonstrates this easy pasta dish that you can put together in the time is takes to preheat your pasta water! One of the tricks to this dish is to use the highest quality and most authentic ingredients you can find! Eric prefers using spaghetti made in Italy, as well as Sicilian extra virgin olive oil. The pistachios add a delicious nutty flavor to the pasta, as well as a contrast in texture and the dish is capped off with fresh mint, lemon zest, and grape or cherry tomatoes.

Ingredients:
-1/2 pound spaghetti or linguine (De Cecco or Delallo are good Italian brands)
-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (preferably from Sicily)
-12 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes
-3 cloves garlic
-1/3 cup roasted pistachios
-1 handful fresh mint leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
-Zest of 1 lemon
-Grated Parmiggiano-Reggiano cheese
-Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:
-Bring a pot of pasta water up to a rapid boil. While the pasta water preheats, use this time to prep the rest of the ingredients.
-Chop the pistachios finely with a knife.
-Thinly slice the garlic cloves.
-Thinly slice the fresh mint.
-Cut the grape or cherry tomatoes in half.
-Zest the lemon using a microplane.
-As pasta water nears a boil, preheat a large skillet on medium heat. Add the extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes, and garlic. Give a gentle stir to ensure that the garlic is submerged in the olive oil.
-About a minute later once the tomatoes and garlic and sizzling, generously salt the pasta water and add the pasta. The pasta will cook until 1-2 minutes shy of al dente. Do not cook the pasta beyond this point as it will be finished in the sauce. For spaghetti, the cooking time is approximately 6 minutes in the boiling water. Be sure to stir the pasta every minute or two to avoid sticking.
-After pasta has cooked for approximately 5 minutes, reserve about 2 cups of the starchy pasta water. Add about half a cup to the tomatoes, along with half of the chopped pistachios. Use a spatula to gently stir the sauce. At this point season to taste using black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt, if desired. Salt may not be necessary depending on how much of the starch water is used and depending on if the pistachios are already salted.
-Drain the pasta (do not rinse!) and add it to the tomato sauce. Gently stir to incorporate everything and allow the pasta to finish in the sauce for 1-2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency. If the sauce becomes too dry, add more of the reserved pasta water.
-Once desired consistency is achieved, turn off the heat and add in the fresh mint as well as the lemon zest. Stir to evenly mix and incorporate all of the ingredients.
-Serve the pasta along with grated parmiggiano-reggiano cheese and the remaining chopped pistachios.
-Enjoy!