Creamy, rich and with just a hint of nutmeg, this walnut sauce is one of my favourite vegan sauces. I posted a recipe for walnut sauce before and it’s still one of my recipes with the most remakes by you!
This is a slightly different, upgraded version with delicious, mildly bitter red chicory, garlic and portobello mushrooms.
A bit of heat from Olio Santo (Sicilian chilli oil) and freshly chopped parsley.
If you loved my previous recipe for tagliatelle in walnut sauce, you are definitely going to love this even more!
Ingredients
50g walnuts, toasted
10g pine nuts, toasted
1/2 slice of white bread, crust removed
1 clove garlic
100ml soy (or regular) milk
50ml olive oil (reserve 1 tbsp)
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of nutmeg
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
140g red chicory, chopped thin
100g portobello mushrooms, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
200g spaghetti or bucatini
Salt to taste
Olio Santo or any kind of chilli oil, to garnish
Method
Soak the bread in the milk, then squeeze out the liquid and add the bread to a blender.
To this, add walnuts, pine nuts, garlic, oil, milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and blend, adding a few splashes of cooking water (from the pasta) until you obtain a smooth, velvety cream. Set aside.
Heat the reserved tbsp of oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds, then add chicory and mushrooms, season with salt and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the walnut sauce and cook on low flame for 1 more minute.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve one ladle of cooking water, and drain the rest. Mix pasta and sauce, adding the reserved cooking water if needed and garnish with parsley and chilli oil.
