Liguria · No.84 / 103
Walnut Pesto Pasta
Walnut Pesto Pasta
A pale pesto of blanched walnuts, milk-soaked bread and pine nuts, tossed off the heat.
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Meet the dish
A Ligurian-style walnut sauce tossed with spaghetti
Soak stale white bread in milk, then boil the walnuts for five minutes and rub them in a cloth to reduce the bitter skins. Blend the walnuts with squeezed bread, garlic, pine nuts, marjoram and Parmigiano while streaming in oil. Loosen the pesto with pasta water and toss it with spaghetti off the heat.
Pasta shapes to use
- spaghetti
Key ingredients
- walnuts
- stale white bread
- milk
- pine nuts
- Parmigiano
- garlic
- marjoram
Follow the cooking scenes
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Step 1: Soak the bread
Soak the white crumb in milk, squeeze it, and reserve the milk for adjusting the sauce.
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Step 2: Blanch the walnuts
Boil the walnuts for about five minutes, then rub them gently in a cloth to remove much of the skin.
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Step 3: Blend the pesto
Blend walnuts, bread, pine nuts, garlic, marjoram and Parmigiano, streaming in the oil until smooth.
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Step 4: Toss off the heat
Keep the pesto pan off the heat, loosen with pasta water, and toss in the spaghetti.
What to watch for
- Reserve the bread-soaking milk and add it only a little at a time if the pesto is too firm.
- Do not heat the pesto while tossing; this preserves the walnut and cheese aromas.
What sets it apart
Genovese pesto is driven by fresh basil; this pale sauce gets its mellow body from walnuts, bread and milk.