Rosemary and Walnut pasta

rosemarypasta

Tuesday’s dinner was Rosmarino E Noci. The combination of anchovies, cayenne and garlic is great for a presentation that you want to end prematurely, if you know what I mean. The recipe serves two, but can easily be doubled.

Rosemary and Walnut pasta (adapted from Williams-Sonoma Pasta Sauces)

Ingredients

  • Spiral pasta (something that will hold sauce)
  • 1/4 C olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced very thinly
  • 4 anchovy fillets, drained and mashed
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 C walnuts, broken into pieces (Pine nuts would be fine, too)
  • 1 T chopped, fresh rosemary (available free outside my office building — mwuhahaha!)
  • 1/2 C Parmesan cheese (Reggiano if possible.)
  • Fresh ground pepper

Instructions

  1. Add the spiral pasta to boiling water. Salt’s optional. Personally, the sauce has enough kick that I wouldn’t bother with salt.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a tall, narrow saucepan over medium heat
  3. Add the mashed anchovies and cayenne pepper, cook about 3 minutes
  4. Reduce heat to low, add the garlic and cook until it’s golden (about 5 minutes)
  5. Add the rosemary and half the walnuts, heat 30 seconds
  6. When the pasta is done (al dente), drain.
  7. Pour the sauce over the pasta and add the remaining walnuts
  8. Sprinkle with Parmesan, fresh ground pepper and serve immediately.


Optional salad:
salad

4 thoughts on “Rosemary and Walnut pasta”

  1. Wow! That sounds delicious and so easy maybe even my lazy self might do it. Thanks!! (Exactly where, outside your office, should I look for the rosemary?)

  2. Susan – It’s very easy. The rosemary grows along the sidewalk between buildings. Bushes and bushes of it. Last summer I whacked a big hunk off and used it to season a leg of lamb.

  3. Ok, I gave it a go and it was good but next time I’m going to:

    1. forget the rosemary
    2. double the anchovies
    3. use a nutty oil (sesame maybe)

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