Pasta with Pistachio Mint Pesto

I've gone dark for a while, but that doesn't mean I've stopped working the vegan love.  My boyfriend cooks most of the week now (and he's a great vegan chef in his own right) since I started working full time.  Because it's important to eat hours before bed when you have AR, we always eat between 6 and 7pm--most nights I'm not home in time to cook for us.  But believe me, there are no complaints here--I'm very lucky to have someone putting a hot dinner on the table when I walk in the door!

A day off gives me the opportunity to experiment with new dishes (and give my beloved cook a break), and today I made a pistachio and mint pesto that was dangerously good over spaghetti.  Nuts are a big part of our diet, and I like to work them into any recipe I can, as well as snack on them constantly.  The pistachio is a nut I've admittedtly neglected, and it really deserves better respect since it packs in A, B, C, and E vitamines, lutein, and antioxidants aplenty.  They also have been shown to lower the bad cholesterol and raise the good.  AND they are good sources of fiber and protein.

Once again, granulated garlic in this recipe cuts out the garlic juice that's problematic for those with AR, and I've been going with brown rice pasta lately to avoid gluten ('cause all the celebrites do it, you know?).  Fresh mint is essential to do this right, and the nutritional yeast gives it that gooey, cheesy flavor that makes it indulgent.  If you can find shelled pistachios, bonus for you!  I could only find the shelled ones, so we had a race to see who could shell the most nuts in a minute.  I won, of course.  But it was a win-win situation.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups shelled, roasted unsalted pistachios
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
bunch of fresh mint
1-2 T nutritional yeast
pinch of salt

12 oz brown rice spaghetti or other pasta

Directions:

Cook spaghetti in salted water according to package directions.  Brown rice pasta usually takes about 15 minutes boiling over medium high heat.

Pulse pistachios in food processor, adding in garlic, mint, nutritional yeast, and salt until you have a coarse puree.

Stream in 1/4 -1/3 cup olive oil and pulse to mix in.  You might need more or less, depending on how dry you want the pesto.

Drain spaghetti and toss in a large bowl with pesto, reserving a little to top off each serving.  Garnish with extra pistachio nuts.  Try not to eat to much.