Creamy Walnut Sauce With Spinach Tortellini

This recipe is adapted from Micol Negrin’s book Rustico: Regional Italian Country Cooking. It’s a fantastic book that lists recipes by different regions in Italy along with descriptive narratives of each region’s specialties.

Creamy Walnut Sauce With Spinach Tortellini

---

• Author: priya’s mashups
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 20
• Yield: 6 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

A creamy white sauce that’s ready in 5-10 mins.  It’s a milk-based sauce that’s given body and texture by bread and walnuts.  It’s an instant bechamel sauce if you will. 

---

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

Creating the Sauce:

 

 1 burger bun or 2 bread slices, roughly torn into cubes

 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

 ½ cup pine nuts

 ¾ cup milk

 2 garlic cloves

 ¼ tsp. salt

 ½ tsp. pepper

 ¼ cup olive oil plus 1 tsp. for roasting garlic

 ¼ cup finely grated parmersan or pecorino cheese

 

Pairing Sauce With Pasta:

 

 36 frozen, store bought, spinach tortellini

 Water, for boiling pasta

1/4 cup tarragon, chopped finely

---

Instructions

Creating the Sauce:

1. Soak the bread in 3/4 cup milk for 5-10 mins. making sure all pieces are thoroughly submerged.
2. Roast garlic in 1 tsp. olive oil for 30 secs. to 1 min.
3. Blend all the ingredients under “Creating the Sauce” to a smooth puree–the soaked bread, 1 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup pine nuts, 3/4 cup milk, the roasted garlic glvoes, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. If necessary, add 1/4 cup more milk to get the consistency you desire. Its okay if the sauce is a little grainy from the nuts. It adds a nice texture.

Pairing Pasta With Sauce:

1. Bring the water to a rolling boil
2. Drop the tortellini in boiling water as per package instructions.  Take it out 2 mins. before finishing time.
3. For each serving, add a little pasta water to 4 tbsp. of the sauce and heat on med. for 2 mins.
4. Add 6 tortellini to the sauce, cover and cook for 2 mins.
5. Garnish with chopped tarragon.
6. Repeat for the rest of the servings.

---

Notes

1. If serving toddlers, I pair the pasta with strawberries and lightly seasoned butter beans for a complete meal.
2. Alternatively, roast a few mushrooms or blanch some asparagus stalks and blend with the bread mixture.  With a few simple steps, you’ve included veggies to the meal.
3. If making less than 6 servings, freeze the rest of the sauce in ice cube molds.

• Cuisine: Italian

Assembling the Ingredients:

1 burger bun or 2 bread slices, roughly torn apart into cubes

1/2-3/4 cup milk

1 cup walnuts

1/2 cup pine nuts

2 garlic cloves

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup olive oil + 1 tsp. for roasting garlic

1/4 cup finely grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

8 store bought frozen spinach tortellini

Creating the Sauce:

1. Soak bread in the milk for 5-10 mins. making sure all pieces are thoroughly submerged.
2. Roast garlic in 1 tsp. olive oil for 30 secs. to a minute.
3. Blend all the ingredients–except the pasta–to a smooth puree. If necessary, add 1/4 cup more milk to get the consistency you desire. Its okay if the sauce is a little grainy from the nuts. It is not unpleasant and adds a nice texture.

Pairing Pasta With Sauce:

1. Drop the tortellini in boiling water as per package instructions.
2. Take it out 2 mins. before finishing time.
3. Add a little pasta water to 4 tbsp. of sauce and heat on med. for 2 mins.
4. Add the tortellini to the sauce, cover and cook for 2 mins.
5. Finally, to complete the meal, I serve the spinach tortellini in creamy walnut sauce with a side of strawberries and some lightly salted butter/northern beans.
6. The rest of the sauce is frozen in ice cube molds that have covers. This will last at least another 5-6 meals.

Eating With Your Eyes: