a delicious muffin that has been mildly sweetened.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 25 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 3 cups water, or as needed
- 1 ½ cups walnuts
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- sea salt to taste
- 1 (16 ounce) box dry fettuccine pasta
- ½ bunch fresh chives, finely chopped
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add walnuts and cook until they have softened slightly, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Combine garlic and pinch sea salt in the bowl of a mortar and pestle. Grind to create a thick paste. Add walnuts, marjoram, thyme, and oregano. Grind until combined and slightly creamy, but still coarse.
- Transfer the walnut mixture to a large bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil to form a thick emulsion. Add heavy cream and Pecorino Romano cheese and whisk until combined. Season with black pepper and sea salt to taste.
- Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in fettuccine, return to a boil, and cook pasta over medium heat until cooked through but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain.
- Toss walnut sauce with pasta. Garnish with fresh chives.
- If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can use a food processor instead.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 1066 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 90 g |
| Cholesterol | 61 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 17 g |
| Sodium | 190 mg |
| Sugars | 5 g |
| Fat | 72 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I will make this again, but with several changes. The proportions were all wrong. There was too much garlic and olive oil, and not enough pasta.
This is DELICIOUS! I took leftovers to work and ended up sharing the recipe with two of my coworkers. Add or subtract whatever you like, but it’s still a really great recipe
Excellent!
outstanding
All in all this recipe has some really great flavors, but it is lacking in acidity. This make the taste rather flat for me and I wasn’t that impressed.
I lived in Tuscany for 8 years and enjoyed eating and making salsa di noci. Of course pasta is a first course in Italy and this one, in a “primo-sized” portion, is an ideal choice since it’s light. It’s also good with just olive oil, no cream. Some make it with ricotta (not my favorite…too gluey). We never cooked the walnuts. They grind well without that step and taste fresh. We didn’t use chives or oregano, just the garlic and the marjoram, keeping it exquisitely simple. It’s an uncooked sauce. This recipe is excellent. I just simplify it a bit. Also, try it on fusilli. The pasta holds the sauce so well!
Love this recipe! It has a wonderful texture and a unique sauce although being a decent amount of work to prepare. My family really enjoyed this dish and I can’t wait to make it again. A warning to parents: this is more of an adult tasting dish so younger kids may not find it as delicious.
Some family members liked it, others we loved it! I was lazy today and used my blender instead of mortar and pestle..so mine had more the texture and creaminess of alfredo. I used half and half instead of heavy cream with great results. Next time I’m going to follow the recipe exactly just to compare..Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing. I added some extra cream and garlic, and ended up using my immersion blender in addition to the mortar and pestle. I would use about half of the thyme next time… there will be a next time.
It was ok. My spouse has been to Italy several times and we make authentic recipes often. I think it would be better omitting tge cream and sautéing the garlic a bit to sweeten it up. Both of us found the dish to powerful. Loved the flavors though!
What a unique dish. You’d never know there were walnuts in it. So yum!
Is this good or what??! So creamy and flavorful! Made me want to get a mortar and pestle for sure! It kind of tastes like pesto without the basil. It did take a bit of work but so worth it! Next time, I am going to make more to freeze. Also, I used Half & Half and am glad I did because the sauce ended up to be quite thick. Reserve some pasta water to facilitate easy mixing with the pasta…
~~~Slurp~~~ This is wonderful – what more can I say. Sorry I forgot to sprinkle the chives on top before I took the picture – I remembered them too late for the photo but not to late for us! Thanks for a wonderful recipe and an amazing video. Lovely!
Wonderful recipe. I was skeptical when I finished making it but once I mixed it with the pasta, it tasted great. It looked so pretty with the chopped chives tossed in it, too. I made mussels and shrimp with a complimentary sauce and a fresh salad but I ended up mainly filling up on this salsa di noci pasta. Thank you!