Sage Butter & Walnut Pasta

Key ingredients and possible alternatives

• Pasta - I have used dried spaghetti for this recipe but you can substitute for another type of pasta if you prefer. Long pasta types like spaghetti, tagliatelle, and linguine will work well as the ground walnuts will easily cling to them.
• Walnuts - are toasted and then ground so the nuttiness is evenly distributed throughout the dish.
• Sage leaves - bring an earthly flavour to the buttery sauce.
• Butter - adds moisture and richness.
• Sugar - a small pinch of sugar neutralises the subtle bitterness of the sage leaves.
• Parmesan and black pepper - are added when the dish is served to bring a subtle sour nuttiness, spice, and texture.
• Sea or kosher salt - for salting the pasta water. Make sure you salt the water generously, adding up to one handful to the water before you boil the spaghetti. This may seem like a lot but most of it will drain away with the pasta water.

How to make Sage Butter and Walnut Pasta

1. Cook the pasta

Bring a large saucepan of generously salted water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente according to packet instructions.

2. Toast and blitz the walnuts

Place a frying pan on a medium heat and toast the walnuts for a few minutes until they start to brown. Then whizz them in a food processor or use a pestle and mortar to grind them. Be careful not to over-process the walnuts. You don't want them to become oily.

3. Make the brown butter and sage sauce

Reduce the heat of the frying pan to medium, and add the butter. Add the sage leaves and brown sugar when the butter has melted and leave it to bubble away for a few minutes. Reduce the heat to low when the butter becomes brown.

4. Toss the pasta and ground walnuts in the brown butter and sage sauce

Reserve a cup of the starchy pasta water before you drain the cooked pasta. Toss the cooked pasta and ground walnuts in the sage butter sauce. Add a little pasta water 1 tbsp at a time if the spaghetti requires more moisture. Serve with freshly ground black pepper and grated parmesan.

Tools and Equipment

• Food processor - this is the quickest way to grind the walnuts. You can also use a pestle and mortar to do this manually. If you don't own a food processor or pestle and mortar chop the nuts with a sharp knife as finely as you can.
• Large saucepan - pasta cooks better when it has plenty of room so choose a large saucepan to boil the spaghetti.
• Large frying pan - you can use the same pan to toast the walnuts and make the sage and butter sauce. Choose one that is large enough for you to toss the pasta and ground walnuts in the sage butter.
• Colander - for draining the cooked pasta. Make sure you reserve some of the water first to add moisture to the spaghetti before serving.
• Tongs - for tossing and serving the spaghetti. Use a couple of spoons if you don't have tongs.
• Parmesan grater - for getting the yummy freshly grated parmesan onto your plate when the pasta is served.

3 tips for perfect Sage Butter and Walnut Pasta

1. Keep an eye on the walnuts - toasting the walnuts only takes a few minutes, so be careful not to forget about them and let them burn.
2. Be careful not to overprocess the walnuts - turn off the food processor once the walnuts are ground to a grainy texture resembling coarse sand. If you over-process them they will become oily and lose their bite.
3. Reserve some starchy pasta water - this can be used to add additional moisture to the pasta before serving.

FAQs

More easy pasta recipes:

• Easy Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake
• Nduja, 3 Cheese & Kale Lasagne
• Zucchini Mushroom Pasta
• Spicy Prawn (shrimp) Pasta with Harissa and Feta

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