By January I was jonesing for pasta - any pasta - so I decided to use some dried whole wheat rotini I had on hand to tide me over until I could get it together enough to make some.
I am trying to eat mushrooms and some kind of cruciferous vegetables every day as part of my vegecentric diet and happily enough both of those foods lend themselves well to pasta. I thought they would pair well with pesto but I did not have any pine nuts.
I did have walnuts, though, so I decided to make a walnut pesto using a recipe from Saveur Magazine as the main base. My neighborhood grocery store had beautiful fresh basil which was a blessing in the middle of January so I was all set.
I was pleased with the results. The walnuts offer a more subtle flavor than the pine nuts which, while delicious, have a strong distinct flavor that dominates the dish and I was afraid it would overpower the broccoli and mushrooms as well. The walnuts provided a smooth, rich undertone to the pesto that married well with the pasta and broccoli.
While there will always be a place in my heart for traditional pesto, this walnut version makes for a nice change when you want other ingredients to have a chance to shine.
I cooked the broccoli just a little longer than I should have so it was a bit on the mushy side. It did not detract from the overall flavor but next time I will make sure not to let it go over three minutes.
Home Cookin v9.74 Chapter: Grains Pasta and Potatoes
1-1/2 cups packed basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 cup finely grated pecorino
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb broccoli stems and florets
1 lb cooked mushrooms (here's how I cook mine)
1 lb whole wheat rotini or other short whole wheat pasta
grated parmesan, to garnish
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When the water boils, add a large tablespoon of salt and then add the broccoli florets and stems to the pot. Cover and turn off the heat and let it sit for 3 minutes. Remove the broccoli with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When the broccoli is cool, drain and set aside.
Process the basil, walnuts, pecorino, parmesan, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. With the power on, add the olive oil through the top feeder in a steady stream and process until it reaches your desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Bring the pot of water to a boil again and cook the pasta according to the package directions. When it is done, reserve about a cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta. Do not rinse it. Add it back to the pot over a low heat and add the broccoli, mushrooms, and pesto. Combine all of the ingredients and cook until everything is heated through, adding some of the reserved pasta water to reach a smooth consistency. Remove from the heat and serve immediately garnished with the grated parmesan.
walnut pesto recipe adapted from http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Pesto-di-Noce-Walnut-Pesto
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