Olive-Walnut Pasta
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1pound short pasta, like orecchiette, cavatelli, fusilli or elbows
- ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2cups chopped walnuts
- 1¼cups Castelvetrano olives (or a mixture of green olives), pitted and torn
- 1small garlic clove, peeled
- 1lemon, zested and juiced (about 3 tablespoons juice)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
1100 calories; 72 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 28 grams monounsaturated fat; 31 grams polyunsaturated fat; 98 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 612 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water’s boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain.
- Step 2
While the pasta’s cooking, in a large Dutch oven, stir together the olive oil, walnuts and olives. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and the walnuts are toasted, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, finely grate in the garlic clove and season with 1½ teaspoons salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Step 3
Add the pasta and ¼ cup pasta water to the walnut mixture. Cook over medium-low, stirring and adding pasta water as needed, until the pasta is well coated. Remove from heat and stir in half the lemon zest and all the lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper and more lemon zest.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Alan
Made this tonight and it was quite yummy. The proportions were a bit off: definitely too many walnuts (I would go with 1 cup next time) and more olive oil than needed (I would use 1/4 or 1/3 cup). We served with grated parmesan and it worked well.
Kelly
Used olive tapenade and it was quick and easy. Delicious.
jz
Added frozen peas to the pan after adding pasta. Cooked up easily and added a vegetable.
Hannah
Halved the recipe, using 1/4 of the original walnuts. That was the right amount of walnuts. Added parsley and parm and it was great!
natalie
This recipe is a huge hit with my family and friends. I have one suggestion. I prefer toasting the walnuts alone in the olive oil. I add the green olives to the pasta without sautéing them. The advantage of doing it this way is the toasting process is moisture-free; there is no crazy sizzling and splattering as you toast the nuts. When you add the garlic to the hot oil, it sizzles nicely. I did not miss any flavor for failing to toast the olives. It was less messy and just as flavorful. Yay!
Eva
Delicious! Also added two thinly sliced shallots to the sauté mixture. Added about 1/8 cup of white wine to add another acidic dimension after the shallots had cooked down a little. Topped with chopped parsley and just a little Miyokos vegan mozzarella to each plate. So beautifully nutty and savory.
sandy
Maybe I’m alone here but I kept all the nuts, all the oil, added parsley and every mouthful was full of deliciousness. My daughter would vote for fewer nuts. We agreed on not needing the cheese.
Madeline
So, so good. No variation from the recipe except to add a few handfuls of baby arugula to wilt at the end. Halved the entire recipe (except for garlic and lemon, left at quantity) for two, such a fun dinner. Thank you!
LL
Use olive tapenade- easier!
Matt
I added two tablespoons of tomato paste at the end to add a little depth and sweetness to balance the other flavors. Worked well.
Laurashmily
This is a truly excellent dish - simple, fast, unusual and very, very tasty. I use a combination of pitted black and garlic-stuffed green olives because who wants to pit olives on a weeknight? Plus, no need to add garlic as it is incorporated. If you are vegetarian rather than vegan, a couple of dollops of goat cheese added at the end is luscious.
Jonathan
Made this last night, delicious. Added shallots, a bit of white wine, and shallots, as others suggested. But it lacks a bit of binding; needs more of a sauce, so for the leftovers, I'm going to stir in a pesto of olive tapenade, some walnuts, oil, and a squeeze of lemon.
jim in japan
Fantastic! Used a combination of Castelvetrano and smaller French olives. Added Italian parsley and Parmesan (thumbs up!), and shrimp (an expensive, unnecessary distraction). Worth spending money on good walnuts, since they’re central to the dish.
Michael
Great dish. I used a combination of pitted castelvetrano and kalamata olives, tore them as suggested. I backed off a bit on the walnut volume per many of the notes but I think the dish can support the full amount. The cheese is a great idea; I used shredded parmesan but maybe another more chewy, salty cheese...not a big feta fan but that profile. Also, did anyone else's pasta (I used penne) turn dark after adding to the roasted walnut/evoo/olive mix just before serving? Will make again.
Cooking Adjustments
Quick weeknight meal. Good no dairy, no soy option. Add fake feta or parm 👌🏼
Frank
We really enjoyed this recipe. We made it with squid ink pasta, which added an especially chewy note, along with a visual shift. We used a mix of olives and appreciated the variety. The full 2 cups of walnuts is a lot, and you have to work to keep them mixed in with the pasta, rather than dropping it the bottom - but we liked the nuttiness. We also added a half pound of small shrimp which made it delicious, and some dill - yum.
Andrea
Sorry but I found this dish to be rather odd, sort of dry. However, I sliced some bocconcini into my plate and it really improved the dish
TSEliot
Very satisfying! Made as written, but I used all the lemon zest and served with grated pecorino romano. Tastes great with my Bread & Butter Chardonnay!
Alice Ann
Added roughly torn parsley and crumbled feta at the end, served over escarole. Arugula would also work.
CAphyl
Made this again for 2: 1/2 pasta and nuts, used only a touch of oil, added diced salumi (as I had some as part of a basket gift for my birthday) Italian seasoning, thyme and capers. Sliced garlic thinly rather than grating. Just yum.
Pat
This recipe has been in my recipe box for quite a long time and I finally made it. I made the recipe as written although I did halve it as I was making it for two people. It was absolutely delicious. I will be making it again and again...as written!
amybake
Flavor fantastico! Use 2 garlic. Walnuts perfect. Do use cumin seed exactly as described. Cumin powder will be way different.
ndchef
I made 1/2 pasta, but almost all olives and walnuts. 2 cloves garlic, splash of white wine. Still pretty bland, disappointing.
Bobbi
December 2023. I’ve made this 3 times- each time I roast 2 or 3 vegetable always with something in the onion family and dump it all in with the walnuts before adding the pasta. I also use blue cheese stuffed olives that I chop up and add at the end. So delicious!
John Taylor
I halved the recipe and it was more than enough for 4 people. Once I added the pasta water I noticed how dry the dish was. No “sauce” sticking to the pasta. So I added about 1.5 T butter, 1/3 cup more pasta water, and 1/4 cup grated Romano. Also added another 1/2 squeezed lemon. The result was pasta coated with a silky lemon garlic butter sauce and the nuts and olives making it taste very Mediterranean. But I guess that’s a different recipe. Sorry.
Laura G.
Adapted well to a pant tweak: I use tapenade in place of the olive oil and chopped olives. Made 1/2 the recipe: replaced olive oil in same amount with tapenade, + an extra Tbsp to make up for the absence of chopped olives. Toasted the walnuts (did not find the proportion too much). Mixed pasta, tapenade, good squeeze of lemon juice (too lazy for zest) & a Tbsp or so of pasta water, added walnuts, topped with crumbled feta. Ricotta salata would also work. Served w/ green salad. Would make again.
DRK
Excellent recipe but agree with others that 2 cups of walnuts is too much even for all that pasta. I also wanted more protein. Therefore I cut the walnuts in half and added canned smoked Herring/kippers. Topped the dish with a dollop of ricotta. Very enjoyable.Capers would've been a good addition also.
Susan Fitzgerald
This is a wonderful pasta dish. Because I live in an area where pecans are grown I used them instead of walnuts with great success.
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