Fettuccine with Walnut Sauce

 

Prep 20 mins Cook 10 mins Eat 25 mins

When I worked for La Cucina Italiana magazine, I stumbled upon this recipe for Fettuccine with Walnut Sauce.  It quickly became a household favorite and the best thing is that it can be made in a Flash.

Americans have a love affair with Fettuccine Alfredo.  We love it, but everyone knows it is super fattening, loaded with heavy cream and when you eat it you love it, but you immediately feel guilty.  I notice lately that a lot of restaurants have opted for more healthy pasta alternatives.

This Fettuccine with an authentic Italian Walnut Sauce feels like you are eating Fettuccine Alfredo, but without all the calories.  Years ago, I served Fettuccine with Walnut Sauce to guests and they were surprised when I told them it wasn’t Fettuccine Alfredo, made with heavy cream.  Now it’s my little secret!

So what makes it so creamy and dreamy?

The ingredients are simple.  You probably have them in your pantry and fridge right now.  Walnuts, bread (like a country French or Italian white bread), olive oil, Greek yogurt, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and fettuccine (either dried or freshly made).   Simple, right? Leave it to the Italians, the Ligurians, to be exact.  Walnuts, called noci are all over Italy, so this is an ancient method that is a different kind of pesto (meaning pounded) than the green sauce made of basil.

It’s really simple to make too.  Before you begin, get the pasta water boiling. Process garlic clove in a food processor, then combine blanched walnuts, rehydrated bread cubes, salt and pepper in the food processor.  Process until smooth, drizzling in some olive oil.  Looks creamy already, right?

Add ricotta cheese and Greek yogurt and process again until the the mixture is smooth.

Now the walnut sauce really gets creamy.  Set it aside. That’s it!!  No heavy cream, no extra calories.  Just authentic Italian.

Cook the fettuccine in boiling water.   Make some fresh pasta, if you want to get fancy.

Make sure to reserve the pasta water.

When the fettuccine is cooked, drain it, but reserve the pasta water. When you are ready to serve, add the walnut sauce to the noodles and combine.  You will see the creamy sauce adhering to the noodles right away.

Here’s the key thing about getting the walnut sauce just right.  You must ladle some of the hot pasta water into the fettuccine mixture to get the right consistency…and as it sits, it will absorb the liquid, so you will need to add more, the longer it sits.  So wait to combine until you are ready to serve and then add a little more pasta water to each individual pasta bowl.   We all love a little creamy liquid in our pasta bowl, right?  It adds to the luxurious texture of this amazing dish.

Top each dish with some grated parmesan cheese and pass more for your guests to add.  The result is an amazing creamy Fettuccine with authentic Walnut Sauce that your guests are going to swoon over.

Print this Recipe.

Fettuccine with Walnut Sauce

This authentic Italian walnut sauce “Salsa di noci” is absolutely delicious.  You think you are eating something much more fattening than it is.  I served this to guests and they thought they were eating Fettucine 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.

3/4 cup walnut pieces

1 cup cubes day-old rustic bread

3/4 tsp Coarse sea salt

1 pinch Fresh-ground black pepper

1 garlic clove

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1 pound pasta, fettuccine

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Bring a pot of water to boil for the fettuccine.

2. 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.

3. Drain blanched nuts. Remove any loose skins with a paper towel. Set aside.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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. Serve in individual pasta bowls and add a little more pasta water to each bowl to make more creamy if desired.

7. Top each dish with some grated parmesan cheese and pass more for your guests to add.

Servings: 6   682 calories per serving