Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Mortadella
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While mortadella, Italy’s hot cured meat sensation, can be used in so many ways, Pistachio Pesto Pasta with Mortadella may be the most satisfying. It’s a rustic celebration that pairs the cured meat product with hearty pasta and a fragrant pesto sauce.
Mortadella, the Italian cold cut with Bologna roots, is hot. And by hot, we mean popular. (The finely ground pork salami is usually thinly sliced and served cold.) However, the tasty meat is so versatile that it tastes great on a variety of dishes like pizza and pasta too.
We had this revelation while traveling through Naples and Campania where it’s not unusual to eat pizzas topped with both mortadella and pistachio. After eating and loving several pies, we wondered how we could achieve the same level of deliciousness with pasta. There’s something about the nuttiness of the pistachio and the porkiness of the mortadella that works. Plus, as a bonus, the combination looks as pretty as it tastes.
Our original conception involved thinly sliced mortadella and tagliatelle. However, the novel combination didn’t wow us. So we pivoted the dish to feature radiatori pasta and mortadella chunks instead. Success!
As it turns out, thin slices of mortadella are a bit delicate for toothy, hearty, chunky radiator-shaped noodles. But who says that mortadella must always be sliced thin? No one! We’ve seen it served in chunks before. In fact, you’re missing out if you haven’t yet eaten mortadella cubes with a simple side of mustard.
Try this Tomato Salad with Mortadella and Ricotta recipe if you’re on team mortadella. It’s another dish where the Italian cold cut shines.
Additionally, mortadella, unlike American bologna, is studded with fat. So, as an added bonus, some of the pork fat from the mortadella renders into our sauce. We brown mortadella chunks in a pan so that the meat’s exterior forms a caramelized, slightly crispy crust that brings another flavor dimension to the party.
This resulting pesto pasta dish is a harmonious melange of flavorful cubes and pasta sprials. In a way, it follows the ‘shape rule’ commonly seen in Chinese cuisine. It’s an approach where all ingredients exist in a perfect balance of dimension and flavor.
Warning
Once you eat this pesto pasta dish, you may start keeping a thick slice of Bologna’s famous sausage at the ready in your refrigerator.
Ingredients
Italians would love the simplicity of this dish since it’s made with three Italian staple ingredients plus a few additional garnishes and accoutrements. You may have some or all of the required ingredients in your fridge even if you’re not Italian. If you do, you’re ready to ‘dump and stir’ your way to dinner.
Ingredient quantities are detailed in the printable recipe card below.
How To Make Pesto Pasta with Mortadella
Making this pasta dish is a relatively simple exercise in every-night pasta cooking. It also lets you practice and perfect your pasta cooking game.
Start by heating a pan on medium heat for three to five minutes. Bring the pasta water to a boil while the pan is heating. Once the pan is hot, add a tablespoon of olive oil. You don’t have to wait for the olive oil to heat before you add the mortadella chunks in an even layer
Once the mortadella is cooking, add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook the pasta for about one minute less than the box instructions indicate. About two minutes before the pasta finishes cooking, spoon out 1/2 cup of the pasta water and set aside.
Once the bottom of the first mortadella layer browns, flip the cubes and continue to stir the meat until all of the mortadella is evenly browned. Add a couple spoonfuls of the pasta water that you’ve set aside.
Stir until the water gets slightly thick – about one minute. You should see the bottom of the pan when you drag a wooden spoon.
Cook the pasta until it’s slightly toothy as it will finish cooking in the pan with the mortadella. Use a slotted strainer or spoon to fish out the radiatori. Place the pasta in the sauce pan with the mortadella.
Once the pasta is cooked and slightly starchy, turn off the burner for about three minutes – you need to let the pasta cool slightly before adding the pesto. (If you add the pesto sauce too quickly, it will break.)
Stir in the pesto until it’s incorporated. Once that happens, add a couple spoonfuls of grated parmigiana cheese. The pasta and sauce will become pleasantly thick.
Serve in flat pasta bowls.
Top with torn basil leaves and a sprinkling of grated cheese.
Pesto Pasta Recipe with Mortadella
Ingredients
- 12 ounces radiatori pasta
- 6 tablespoons basil pistachio pesto (see separate recipe)
- 2 cups mortadella (3/4" cubes)
- salt (for the pasta water – to taste)
- Parmigiano-Reggiano (grated – to taste )
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin)
- fresh basil (torn – for garnish)
Equipment
Instructions
- Bring pasta water to a boil with a generous pinch of salt.
- Heat your pan over medium heat. Once heated, add the olive oil and lay the mortadella flat in the pan.
- Add the radiatori pasta to the pasta water.
- Once the bottom of the mortadella has browned, use a spoon to stir and flip the meat until all sides are brown. Once all sides are brown, reduce the heat to low.
- Cook the pasta to about a minute less than the instructions on the bag or box. Two minutes before the pasta is finished, reserve about a 1/2 cup of the pasta water in a heatproof measuring cup and set aside.
- Turn the heat on the mortadella to medium. Once heated, pour about half the pasta water into the pan with the mortadella and cook until it reduces into a starchy liquid. If you run a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan, you should be able to see the surface of the pan.
- Once the pasta is cooked, lift the pasta from the pot with a slotted spoon or strain it into a colander. Add the pasta to the pan with the mortadella. Stir the pasta and the mortadella until the mixture is slightly thick and a bit starchy – about one to two minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pan stand on the same burner for about 3 minutes.
- After 3 minutes, immediately add the pesto and mix until incorporated. Add a small amount of the remaining pasta water if the mixture feels too tight and not saucy enough. Sprinkle in grated cheese until the dish becomes slightly thick. Serve in flat pasta bowls and garnish with additional parmigiano and torn basil leaves.
Notes
Nutrition
💡 Frequently Asked Questions
Pesto is a sauce in which the ingredients are pounded and smashed in a mortar and pestle or ground in a food processor. It’s typically made with pine nuts and sometimes pistachios.
Mortadella is a sausage product from the Bologna province of Italy that’s made with finely ground pork and pork fat. The Italian cold cut is sometimes studded with either black peppercorns or pistachios.
You can buy mortadella at most Italian delis and some better supermarkets. If the mortadella isn’t already sliced, you can request that it be sliced thick at a deli counter.
Basil Pistachio Pesto, Mortadella Cubes, Radiatori Pasta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Salt, Fresh Basil and Olive Oil
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