Chamnamul Walnut Pesto Trofie
Quick answer
- Total time
- 27 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Ingredients
- 9
About this dish
Swapping basil for chamnamul, a celery-scented Korean mountain herb, and pine nuts for toasted walnuts makes this pesto greener and earthier than Genovese.
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Parmigiano and lemon juice set the salt and acidity. Twisted trofie hold the pesto in their grooves, and because they are not rinsed, their surface starch helps the sauce cling.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Toast 35g walnuts in a dry pan over medium-low heat for about 1 minute, just until nutty, then let them cool.
Trim the thick stems from 70g chamnamul, rinse in cold water, and squeeze out the moisture thoroughly.
- 2
Bring 2L water to a full boil and add 1 teaspoon salt.
Cook 180g trofie for 1 minute less than the package time, keeping the center slightly firm so the pasta finishes well when tossed with the pesto.
- 3
Before draining, reserve 4 tablespoons of the cloudy pasta water.
Drain the trofie in a colander without rinsing, because the surface starch helps the walnut chamnamul pesto cling to the spiral grooves instead of sliding off.
- 4
Add the chamnamul, toasted walnuts, 30g Parmigiano Reggiano, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to a blender. Pulse in short bursts until smooth but still fresh green, scraping down as needed.
- 5
Put the pesto in a pan and warm it over low heat for only 30 seconds.
Add the trofie and 3 tablespoons pasta water, then toss quickly so the sauce loosens slightly and coats the grooves without dulling the herb aroma.
- 6
If the sauce feels too thick, add the remaining 1 tablespoon pasta water and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Add 0.5 teaspoon black pepper, check the seasoning, and plate immediately.
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