Pasta with walnut and honey pesto

Name: Pasta with walnut and honey pesto
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Casarecce pasta whole wheat 11.3 oz; Walnut kernels 1 cup; Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese 2.5 oz; Extra virgin olive oil 5 tbsp; Honey 2 tsp; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese to taste; Walnut kernels to taste; Honey to taste

Difficulty: Very easy
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Serving: 4
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

Recipe by
Lulù Gargari

Pasta with Walnut and Honey Pesto is not the sauce you were expecting—and that's exactly the point. Walnuts bring an intense, enveloping richness to the sauce, while a touch of honey introduces just enough sweetness to give the whole thing a character that's genuinely its own. The pairing draws loose inspiration from the walnut sauces of Ligurian cooking, but this version makes no claim to tradition. It departs from that starting point deliberately, letting the contrast between deep, bitter walnut and quiet floral sweetness become the identity of the dish rather than a footnote.

The result is a first course that earns its place at the table without announcing itself too loudly. If you enjoy pushing flavor pairings into new territory, this walnut and honey pesto lands with quiet confidence—savory, a little sweet, and distinctive enough to surprise guests who think they already know walnut pasta. There's nothing complicated in the idea, but the combination reads as considered and original, which is precisely what the source recipe set out to achieve. It's the kind of dish that makes people ask what's in the sauce before they've finished the first bite.

INGREDIENTS

Casarecce pasta 11.3 oz (320 g) - whole wheat

Walnut kernels 1 cup (120 g)

Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese 2.5 oz (70 g)

Extra virgin olive oil 5 tbsp (70 g)

Honey 2 tsp (15 g)

Fine salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

For garnish: Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese to taste; Walnut kernels to taste; Honey to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Pasta with walnut and honey pesto

To prepare the pasta with walnut and honey pesto, start by cooking the whole-wheat casarecce in boiling salted water 1. Meanwhile, pour the walnuts into the mixer bowl 2 together with the grated cheese 3.

Add the oil 4, the honey 5 and pour in a little of the pasta cooking water 6.

Add salt and pepper and blend 7. At this point the pasta should be al dente; drain it into a bowl 8 and immediately toss with the sauce 9.

Mix well, then plate. Garnish with a little cheese 10, some broken walnut pieces 11 and a drizzle of honey 12.

Storage

It is recommended to eat the pasta with walnut and honey pesto immediately. You can store the walnut pesto in the refrigerator for one day, in an airtight container.

Tip

Add the pasta cooking water to the pesto little by little, so you can adjust the consistency without making it too runny. For a more intense flavor, you can lightly toast the walnut kernels in a pan before blending them: just a few minutes will do, taking care not to let them darken too much.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.

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