I stopped following recipes and tried building my own pasta—used pistachios as a “seasoning system”
I’ve been trying to move away from just copying recipes and actually understand what I’m doing when I cook, so I experimented with a pasta that started kind of like carbonara—but turned into something completely my way.
Instead of eggs or pancetta, I used a béchamel (made from a roux with hot milk) and added parmesan for the base. For protein I used ham.
The main thing I focused on was pistachios. Instead of just adding them randomly, I tried using them in different textures depending on what I needed:
* Very fine (almost like a seasoning mixed into the dish) * Medium (to coat the ham and give flavor + texture) * Whole pieces (for crunch and finishing)
I also tested using salted vs unsalted pistachios to control the overall seasoning.
The result was creamy, slightly salty, and had a mix of smooth and crunchy textures that actually worked better than I expected.
I’m not trying to call it carbonara or anything traditional—it’s just my version while I’m learning.
Does using one ingredient in multiple textures like this actually make sense from a cooking perspective, or am I overthinking it?