The secret to blending pasta with pesto sauce is to cut it with the pasta cooking water. It’s the warm, starchy water that binds the two together.
1 - 1 lb (450 g) pkg orecchiette pasta
3 cups (750 mL) fresh fiddleheads, steamed
1 shallot, minced
1/2 recipe Fiddlehead and Walnut Pesto
1/2 cup (125 mL) Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated
Black pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, boil pasta in salted water until al dente. Before draining, ladle out about 1 cup (250 ml) of pasta cooking water. Return pasta to saucepan. Stir in steamed fiddleheads, shallot, and pesto. Thin sauce with reserved pasta cooking water, adding a little at a time and stirring well between additions. Finish with cheese and generous grindings of freshly cracked black pepper.
Serves 6.
Each serving contains: 446 calories; 17 g protein; 17 g total fat (3 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 59 g carbohydrates; 4 g fibre; 158 mg sodium
source: "Spring's Green Goodness", alive #331, May 2010
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