Pasta With Creamy Crushed Walnut Sauce From Heidi Swanson
Description
Thank goodness for a new speedy pasta—especially one with a proper sauce that requires almost no cooking. As Heidi Swanson writes on 101 Cookbooks| New Window, “This is the best thing I’ve cooked with the least amount of effort in the past month.” I would have to agree.
Ingredients
- 2 cups toasted walnuts
- 3 or 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 pound dried pasta (a short shape)
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- lots of freshly ground black pepper
- to serve: fresh herbs, homemade bread crumbs, chile oil
Directions
- While you’re bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil, crush the walnuts and garlic together in a mortar and pestle. Alternately, you can pulse with a hand blender or food processor, but leave a bit of texture and chunkiness.
- Cook the pasta per package instructions in the boiling water. Once the pasta is in the pot, and the pasta water is nice and starchy, reserve 2 cups of the pasta water. Whisk a cup of the pasta water into the walnut mixture, adding more until your sauce is as thick as heavy cream. You’ll likely need about 1 3/4 cups of pasta water, maybe a splash more. Stir in half the cheese, a couple tablespoons of lemon juice, and more freshly ground black pepper than you think you’d want. Taste and add a bit more salt to the sauce if needed. If it’s all in balance, this should taste Awesome. Capital-A Awesome.
- Transfer the cooked pasta to a large bowl and toss with the walnut sauce. Sprinkle with lemon zest and top with some fresh herbs if you have them (thyme is nice here), bread crumbs, and a drizzle of chile oil.
