“I saw a recipe recently for ‘pistachio pesto’ – nobody wants that,” writes Emma Brockes (Everyone has gone nuts for pistachios. But they’re just an upmarket green peanut, aren’t they?, 26 February). Pistachio pesto is actually a delicious traditional Sicilian recipe. It should be properly made with pistachios from the town of Bronte, which are of the highest quality. The cultivation of pistachios was probably introduced to the area by Arabs in the Middle Ages; locally the pistachio is known as frastuca, a name derived from Arabic.
Margherita Mussi
Rome, Italy
• We in the Green party campaigns committee have taken up Umberto Eco’s baton (Letters, 25 February) and produced a set of “how to spot a fascist” beermats. On the other side are suggestions for what to do about fascism when you spot it. They’ve proved very popular. Maybe the Guardian could consider beermats in the future, to replace wallcharts.
Charles Harris
London
