I am gonna be honest. This is addicting! A creamy, fresh, quick, full of flavor and so many nutrients! You won‘t go back to store bought pasta sauces! Plus, its dairy free and vegan because we are topping it with pistachio breadcrumbs. You are NOT missing the parmesan in top! All in all it is just so tasty!
Is Pasta unhealthy?
I honestly love pasta, and despite all rumors it is not unhealthy. Well, at least not as is because it is a great source of carbohydrates. If you make wholegrain pasta, it is even healthier because you get an extra portion of fiber with it! But yes, just as everything else it can be prepared really unhealthy. Not the actual pasta itself but the sauce it comes with. If ypu use a very oil heavy or cream, cheese or butter based sauce such as alfredo or carbonara or one with fatty meat like bacon or salami, it can load up on calories and fats really quickly. But when you pair it with a rather light sauce like a tomato one or one with fresh vegetables it is not unhealthy at all! Also pesto is a good choice. I mean, yes it has cheese but it also has oil, nuts and fresh basil. Oil and nuts are high in healthy fats and fresh basil has so many vitamins!
What is special about this dish?
100% the sauce! Why? Because it is not your regular tomato sauce. And by „white wine tomato sauce“ I don‘t mean that you poor half a bottle if wine into your regular sauce (although this would probably also be super tasty :)). No, its a sauce made of only fresh tomatoes – of all sizes and colors, a good splash of white wine and lots if fresh herbs. And of corse, not to forget the pistachio breadcrumbs. They just take it next level!
Which tomatoes work best for this dish?
I believe that a mix of many different ones work best! A mix of large ones, cherry tomatoes or san Marzanl works best. Also, if you have access to it or can find them, feel free to add yellow, orange or brown tomatoes. The more you add, the more of a diverse, intense and interesting flavor and many different textures! So, use whatever you have on hand! The more different ones you have, the better!
Which wine works best?
As the name says, white wine! This can be a fruitier one or one that is rather on the dry side. This is up to you and what you like to drink! My dad always says „use a wine for cooking that you will also drink with the dish“. So use a good and tasty wine because you will also taste it in the sauce. It is as important to use a good quality product in a dish as it is to drink it. You could, however, also use some sparkling wine because the carbon dioxide will cook down anyway. If you only have red wine on hand, you can use this too but be aware that this will make it more of a heavier dish whereas the white wine makes it rather lighter.
Pistachio breadcrumbs?! What and how?
I have never eaten that before. Neither at a restaurant not at someone’s home! But it is game changing. I know, we all love some parmesan on top of our pasta, but if we are longing for a dairy-free, healthier and vegan option, this is amazing! And so simple. 3 ingredients and addicting! The only ingredients you really need are pistachios (whole grain) bread crumbs, and olive oil. The pistachios are chopped finely and mixed with the breadcrumbs. After they are pan fried in some olive oil to get them crispy and bring out the flavor. If you want a slight cheesy flavor, you can also add in some nutritional yeast (Hefeflocken) if you want but it definitely is not necessary! When putting them on top of the pasta, the add a nice crunch and texture and also some saltines as cheese would do! You need to try this! I swear it is so good!
Is it family friendly?
Yes! 100%! You do add wine, but the alcohol boils away, so even kids can eat it! And it is vegan (if you use vegan pasta of corse) but if you want to add some parmesan or mozzarella on top you of course can do so! Ir if you want some prawns of grilled chicken with it, it works as well. Plus, it is less than 30 minutes, so it‘s a great weeknight dinner!
We absolutely love having this dish in pur house and make it pretty often! Its super tasty, simple, and full of vitamins! I hope that it gives you some inspiration to cook something healthy & tasty!
Happy cooking,
Katie || Une Petite Cuisinière
Tomato White Wine Pasta with Pistachio Bread Crumbs
Quick, simple, healthy, tasty. Fancier than your average tomato sauce, full of vitamins, 30 minute and tastes so incredibly good!
What you will need
For the tomato sauce:
- 400 g tomatoes large ones, can be any color
- 300 g cherry tomatoes or any other small ones, it is best to mix the colors
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 white onion
- 1/8 l white wine
- 1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
- 2 small branches rosemary and oregano
- 1 garlic clove grated
- 1/2 lemon juiced
For the pistachio breadcrumbs:
- 20 g pistachios
- 20 g breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp olive oil
Other:
- 500 g Pasta tagliatelle work best
How to
For the tomato sauce:
-
Chop the large tomatoes into about 1cm sized cubes. Half the cherry tomatoes. Finely mince the onion. In a large pot heat up the olive oil. Add the onion and sautée it until it is translucent. Then add in the chopped tomatoes and reduce to medium high heat. Also add the herbs and the garlic clove (and the chili flakes if using) into the pot and give it a stir. Add the white wine and let simmer for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Then add the lemon juice and salt generously and let simmer for another 10 minutes on low heat. Before serving take out the herbs.
For the Pistachio Breadcrumbs:
-
In the meantime make the pistachio breadcrumbs. Therefore add the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until they have gotten a fine consistency. If you do not have a food processor, chop them up with a knife. Combine them with the breadcrumbs. heat up the olive oil in a pan and fry the mixture on high heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly so they do not burn. Take them off the heat and set them aside.
-
In the meantime cook the pasta according to package instructions. Once done reserve 1/2 cup (about 100ml) of pasta water and drain them. Add the drained pasta, along with the reserved water to the sauce and mix through. Seperate them onto 4 plates and top with the pistachio breadcrumbs and serve.
Enjoy!