Spaghetti with Walnut Sage Pesto

By KDHarmon

Ingredients

• 3.5 ounces whole wheat spaghetti per person
• 1 C walnuts, toasted
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 or more fresh sage leaves
• 1/4 C olive oil
• grated Parmesan
• lemon zest
• ricotta, optional

Details

Adapted from bonappetit.com

Preparation

Step 1

Boil pasta until al dente and reserve a half cup of the pasta water.

Use a mortar and pestle to crush a garlic clove with a big pinch of kosher salt. Add the walnuts, some sage—about three fresh leaves or two generous pinches dried—and crush until chunky-creamy. Drizzle in a quarter-cup of olive oil. Season to taste, adding grated Parmesan if you’d like.

Stir the cooking liquid into the pesto to thin it out a bit—you want it silky with chunks. Toss the pasta with pesto in a big bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with more grated Parmesan and Microplaned lemon zest. Add a dollop of ricotta if desired.