Fettuccine with Authentic Italian Walnut Sauce
Fettuccine with Walnut Sauce
Prep 20 mins Cook 10 mins Eat 30 mins
This recipe is an absolute winner! The Fresh Fettuccine with Authentic Italian Walnut Sauce we made in our September La Cucina Italiana class got rave reviews, even though I forgot one step in my rush to bring it to the table, which was thinning the sauce with the pasta water. Try this recipe and I promise that it will become one of your favorite Italian dishes with or without the fresh fettuccine.
Fresh sheets of pasta from the Atlas Pasta machine.
I love making homemade pasta when I have the time. There’s something therapeutic about rolling out the dough and seeing flour and eggs turn into shiny lustrous sheets and ribbons of pasta. And of course, the reward of eating fresh pasta is…well special!
Freshly made fettuccine
Homemade fettuccine is fresh, more porous and delicious then it’s dried brethren.
Freshly made Fettuccine with Walnut Sauce
One of the joys of working with La Cucina Italiana magazine is discovering authentic Italian recipes that are completely new and different than my usual repertoire. I count the walnut sauce as one of these. Salsa di noci was a fabulous new discovery for me and it will be for you. The walnut sauce is complex, heavenly. One of the students called it a white pesto. Yes – that describes it perfectly.
Leftover walnut sauce in container.
It’s a combination of day old rustic bread with walnuts, ricotta and greek yogurt. You think you are eating something much more fattening than it is. I served this to guests and they thought they were eating Fettuccine Alfredo. But there is no cream in this dish and yet if you didn’t make it yourself, you wouldn’t believe it. You can make it even more skinny by using both nonfat versions of ricotta and Greek yogurt to slash the calories even further.
Thin the walnut sauce with pasta water while tossing pasta, like this Pumpkin Ravioli.
I learned that you need to thin the “white pesto” with pasta water to get it to the right consistency. It’s very thick when it comes out of the food processor. Mixing it with a little pasta water makes it easier to toss the noodles and you get a creamy texture.
Pumpkin Ravioli with Walnut Sauce
A great use of the leftover walnut sauce was the home-made pumpkin ravioli I made the next day for guests. Double yum! You can also freeze the walnut sauce for future meals.
Basic Egg Pasta Recipe for Fresh Fettucine
Fettuccine with Walnut Sauce
- 3/4 cup walnut pieces
- 1 cup cubes day-old rustic bread
- 1 garlic clove
- 3/4 tsp Coarse sea salt
- 1 pinch Fresh-ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 pound pasta, fettucine
1. Boil half of the nuts in a medium saucepan of water for 7 minutes. Meanwhile, put bread in a bowl, cover with tepid tap water and let stand for 5 minutes, then drain and squeeze out excess water.
2. Drain blanched nuts. Remove any loose skins with a paper towel.
3. Place garlic in bowl of food processor and process until minced. Add all nuts (blanched and unpeeled), bread, salt and pepper and process until mixture is smooth. Drizzle in olive oil until mixture begins to look like pesto. Add ricotta and yogurt and process until mixture is thick and smooth. Set aside until pasta is cooked.
4. Prepare fettuccine. If using fresh fettuccine, it will take only a minute to cook in boiling water. Reserve about a cup of the pasta cooking water.
5. Toss pasta with any amount of walnut sauce you like. Thin with the pasta water until pasta is coated with the walnut sauce, but yet remains creamy.
Servings: 6 Calories per Serving: 664
Fettuccine with Walnut Sauce
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup walnut pieces
- 1 cup cubes day-old rustic bread
- 1 garlic clove
- 3/4 tsp Coarse sea salt
- 1 pinch Fresh-ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 pound pasta fettucine
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil for the fettuccine.
- Place half of the nuts in a medium saucepan of water and heat on high for 7 minutes. Meanwhile, put bread in a bowl, cover with tepid tap water and let stand for 5 minutes, then drain and squeeze out excess water.
- Drain blanched nuts. Remove any loose skins with a paper towel. Set aside.
- Cook fettuccine according to manufacturer's directions. If using fresh fettuccine, it will take only a minute to cook in boiling water. Drain fettuccine and reserve at least a cup of the pasta cooking water. Place fettuccine in a wide bowl.
- While fettuccine is cooking, place garlic in bowl of food processor and process until minced. Add all nuts (blanched and unpeeled), bread, salt and pepper and process until mixture is smooth. Drizzle in olive oil until mixture begins to look like pesto. Add ricotta and yogurt and process until mixture is thick and smooth. Set aside until fettuccine is cooked.
- Toss fettuccine with any amount of walnut sauce you like. Thin with the pasta water until pasta is coated with the walnut sauce, but yet remains creamy. Serve in individual pasta bowls and add a little more pasta water to each bowl to make more creamy, if desired.
- Top each dish with some grated parmesan cheese and pass more for your guests to add.
- ENJOY THIS RECIPE FROM FreshFoodinaFlash.com
Nutrition
This dish looks delicious and I like the idea of adding the pasta water to give a creamier sauce. Your pasta looks perfect.
Thank you Lynne. Yes, you can notice the creamier sauce on the Pumpkin Ravioli. Stay tuned for my Pumpkin Ravioli post soon.
[…] This is one of my very favorite Autumn recipes. I make it at this time every year, when pumpkins and pumpkin recipes are pretty much everywhere. I have never met anyone who isn’t in awe of freshly made Pumpkin Ravioli. It is definitely an artform, but really it is not that difficult to make. Just give yourself an hour to learn the steps. Even if you don’t have a pasta machine, you could do it, by simply rolling out the dough by hand…or cheat with wonton wrappers…OK for us Italian purists, this might be considered a sin, but it’s better than going without! I will walk you through the steps and you can decide for yourself. You can make it with the Browned Butter & Sage Sauce or the Authentic Italian Walnut Sauce from my previous post. […]
[…] learning how to use it as a replacement for heavy cream and sour cream in dishes like the Fettuccine with Authentic Italian Walnut Sauce. It tastes like Fettuccine Alfredo without all the […]
[…] Food bloggers at Camp Blogaway took home copies of La Cucina Italiana magazine, the ultimate reference for authentic Italian food and cooking in the U.S. With so much interest in the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle, Italian food is back in the forefront. On September 12, 2013 I will be teaching a La Cucina Italiana Cooking Class – recipes from this beautiful and inspiring magazine. Look at what we made in my class last year, Fettuccine with Authentic Italian Walnut Sauce. […]
[…] Fresh Fettucine with Walnut Sauce Fettucine con salsa di noci […]