Recipe: Walnuts and Rosemary Pasta Sauce

Walnuts and Rosemary Pasta Sauce
rec.food.recipes/Irene Wilcox/2000
Serves 4

This sauce is ideal with fusilli or other spirals, or with angel hair pasta. It makes a lovely first course to precede fish. For a spicier sauce, omit the Parmesan, add a little more cayenne and top with freshly chopped Italian parsley.

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced paper-thin
4 anchovy fillets packed in olive oil, drained and lightly mashed
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
salt
freshly ground green peppercorns
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Add your choice of pasta to boiling water.

In a tall, narrow saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic, anchovies and cayenne pepper, reduce the heat to very low and cook very slowly, stirring, so the garlic takes on its distinctive golden color without burning, about 5 minutes.

Add half of the walnuts and all of the rosemary. Leave the mixture to heat for a few seconds.

When the pasta is al dente, drain and transfer to a warmed serving dish. Immediately pour the sauce over the pasta and add the remaining nuts. Season to taste with salt and green pepper and toss well. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and serve at once.