walnut sauce

This walnut sauce pasta is a traditional dish from Liguria in Northwest Italy. Although not as famous as pesto Genovese (basil pesto), walnut sauce is another delicious type of Ligurian pesto. It’s also just as easy to make!

Walnut Sauce Pasta Recipe from Liguria

200 g shelled walnuts (7 ounces)

200 ml milk (1 cup)

bread

garlic (peeled)

g pine nuts (1 ounces)

Parmigiano

extra virgin olive oil.

marjoram leaves

(for

black pepper. (to taste)

Put the shelled walnuts in a pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Drain and rinse the walnuts, remove the skins by wiping with a cloth and pat the walnuts dry with kitchen paper or a clean tea towel  (this step is optional).

Break the bread into pieces, put it in a bowl and cover with the milk. When it is completely wet, drain and squeeze the milk out with your hands. Save the milk.

Put the drained bread in the blender/food processor along with the walnuts and the garlic. Pulse a few times until the walnuts are quite small. Add the parmigiano cheese, pine nuts and 2 pinches of salt. Pulse for about 20 seconds until the sauce becomes  a bit smooth.

Continue to pulse while adding olive oil a little at a time and the remaining milk from the bread as needed to obtain a thick creamy sauce. Store in a sealed container in the fridge until ready to use.

Make the walnut sauce

Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. When it boils add salt and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet. My store-bought fresh trofie needed 9 minutes.

Before draining the pasta, water down the Ligurian walnut sauce with about ½ ladle of pasta cooking water in a pan large enough to hold the pasta too. Stir until the sauce becomes creamy and the right consistency. Also save a cup of the water to add later just in case your walnut sauce pasta seems dry.

Add the drained pasta to the sauce along with some fresh marjoram leaves, freshly ground black pepper , some pieces of walnuts and a little more grated parmigiano. Mix everything together well and serve immediately.

Finish and serve

Chiles en nogada or stuffed poblano peppers in walnut sauce, are a festive dish eaten during the Mexican Day of Independence festivities. They’re delicious and unlike any other Mexican food you’ve ever eaten.

Chiles En Nogada Made Vegetarian (Poblano Peppers In Walnut Sauce)

water

lime juice

soy sauce

Poblano peppers

olive oil

4.65 oz white onion (finely chopped (i'ts 132 grams))

garlic cloves

peaches (or 80 gm

small granny smith apples

green pears

almonds, almonds (25 grams)

raisins** (50 to 100 grams)

Tablespoon Mexican cinnamon (to start and adjust to taste)

clove (to start and adjust to taste)

oregano

thyme

Tablespoon fine sea salt (start

black pepper (adjust

walnuts

media crema (or substitute with full fat milk***)

plain goat cheese (100 grams)

sugar

black pepper

pomegranate seeds (134 grams)

parsley leaves (amount will depend

Thoroughly clean and pat dry the Poblano peppers so you can roast them. I use the open flame method on a stove top but you may also put the peppers under the broiler in your oven until their skin is nice and charr. On the stove char the chiles evenly on all sides. Once the Poblanos have been charred place inside of a plastic bag and set them aside to “sweat” so you can peel them in a bit.

Instructions for Roasting The Poblano Peppers

Bring the water to a boil then pour in the lime juice and the soy sauce give it a stir then carefully add the dry TVP granules. Stir the TVP around the water to help rehydrate it. Turn off the heat and set aside for 15 minutes.

Once the TVP has been fully rehydrated, strain it over a fine sieve. Then use just a little cold water to rinse and run over the TVP to help cool it down enough for you to handle it. Once you can touch the TVP then you want to use your hands to squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible. After you’ve done that, and only if the granules are large you want to roughly chop it into smaller pieces that resemble cooked ground meat. Set the TVP aside.

How to Rehydrate TVP

Heat the oil in a large pan and once hot add the onion, saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes. Next add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes, stirring often. Now add the drained TVP and stir to combine the onion and garlic into it. Mix in the bits of peach and allow to cook for about 5 minutes, then add the apple and cook another 5 minutes. Now add in the almond bits, raisins, and all of the spices from the filling ingredients list. Give the mixture a very good stir and cook for 5 minutes. Now add the pear and cook under medium heat for a further 15 minutes. At this time if the mixture starts to stick to the pan you may add a little bit of water or vegetable broth to prevent it from burning and just until the fruits release some of their juices. Give the filling mixture a taste and if needed adjust the seasoning if desired. Remove from heat.

Now go back to the peppers and one by one use the back of a butter knife or your fingers to carefully pull off the charred skin away from each pepper. Place them on a clean plate or cutting board until you’ve finished with each chile. Once all the chiles have had their charred skin removed (you don’t need to rinse them as any little bits of charred skin will only add flavor to the dish), make a small incision in each pepper going lengthwise but stopping before you get to the tip. The incision only needs to be long enough to remove the seeds and place the stuffing inside. Now use your hands to pull out all of the seeds and any attached veins from each Poblano. After you’ve done this to all 6 chiles set them aside.

Pour the media crema or milk or cream into the blender then add in the walnut bits and a little splash of milk or water to help get the blender going. Blend until the walnuts have completely broken down. Next add the goat cheese and blend until it is well incorporated into the sauce — if needed add a little more milk to the blender in order to achieve a smooth and creamy sauce . Add a pinch of ground black pepper and fine sea salt to your taste (I added the 1/2 teaspoon), and the 1/2 teaspoon of sugar then blend again for about 2 minutes. Now taste the walnut sauce and if needed add more sugar or salt to it if desired. Pour the sauce into a large bowl and set aside.

Instructions for Preparing the chiles en nogada:

Traditionally it is only one stuffed pepper per person. Carefully place chile on a plate and fill it with the warm filling. Drizzle a generous amount of the walnut sauce over the stuffed pepper, then sprinkle some pomegranate seeds and lastly some finely chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Traditionally the pepper is served alone, but if you’d like some plain white rice may be added as an accompaniment. I prefer the alone method and find that the rice is unnecessary, but it is up to you. Lastly, I quite enjoy a glass of dry or fruity red wine with this meal — beer is not recommended.

To Serve

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1663353634/yakfikti1e2cpe37tuum.mp4

Chiles en Nogada Vegetarian Recipe

A perfect balance of sweet, savory and smoky, these healthy, roasted vegetable sandwiches feature sweet potato, onion, portobello, red pepper, and a smoky walnut sauce. Easily made gluten-free and/or oil-free.

Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches With Smoky Walnut Sauce

sweet potato, peeled,

onion, sliced

portobello caps,

red pepper,

garlic,

Tbsp oil

salt

lettuce greens

raw walnut halves

tsp salt

tsp smoked paprika

tsp balsamic vinegar

pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.&nbsp;

Lightly oil the vegetables (or coat in broth). Arrange the vegetables in a single layer on the baking sheet, with the mushrooms gill-side up. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on everything except the portobellos.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and transfer the two garlic cloves to the bowl of a food processor. Flip the sweet potato, onion and red pepper. Leave the portobellos gill-side up and sprinkle them with salt. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the vegetables show slight browning and the sweet potatoes are tender, an additional 10 to 15 minutes.&nbsp;

Roast the vegetables:

In a food processor combine the two cloves of garlic that were removed from the oven, walnuts, salt, and smoked paprika. Pulse until the nuts are very finely chopped. With the machine running, quickly drizzle in the water and balsamic, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Taste for seasoning, and add black pepper. The consistency should be a thick, slightly chunky, spreadable dip.&nbsp;

Make the walnut sauce:

Toast the bread. Slice the portobello caps. Spread a layer of walnut sauce on each piece of toast and top with the roasted vegetables. Lightly dress the lettuce with a spoonful or two of the walnut sauce and pile on top of each sandwich. 

Assemble the sandwiches:

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