Sage and Walnut Pasta Nada
Updated June 14, 2024
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:As many servings as you want
- Pasta
- Salt
- Olive Oil
- Walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
- Fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- Freshly grated Parmesan
Preparation
- Step 1
Cook the pasta in salted water until just tender and, before draining, save some of the cooking liquid.
- Step 2
Toss the drained pasta with olive oil and a splash of pasta water to coat. Salt to taste. Serve scattered with walnuts, sage and a generous amount of Parmesan.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Michaelangelo Allocca
Absolutely no need to toast the nuts in the oven. Toast them in a saute pan on the stove (also easier to keep an eye on them that way, to make sure they don't burn). Remove them from the pan when done, and replace them with the olive oil and sage you're going to toss with the pasta, saute a bit or just let them absorb the remaining heat from the toasting -- scrape out with a rubber spatula into the pasta when it's done, rinse out the pan with the cooking water you're going to add back in.
Tina
I love this dish!!! When I have made it in the past, I saute the sage leaves in butter , and then proceed as in this recipe . I call it Sage Brown Butter pasta.
Wendy
Shouldn’t the sage be bloomed a bit in the olive oil before tossing with the pasta?
Pat
What amount of walnuts and sage would you use for a pound of pasta?
Sarah
Pasta nada passes the Calvin Trillin test. The rule of thumb when ordering pasta, Trillin wrote, is that the dish “is likely to be satisfying in inverse proportion to the number of ingredients that the menu lists as being in it.”
luke
Don’t do what I did and err on the side of caution. If you think you toasted enough walnuts, grated enough cheese, and sliced enough sage- double what you just did. And use a whole cup of pasta water if you’re using a pound of spaghetti.
Joanne Weaver
I toast walnuts on a plate in the microwave. Keep a small glass jar of them on my open kitchen shelves next to the tall glass jars of pastas and grains. Another goes in the freezer.
LAH
I think toasted pine nuts instead of walnuts, and maybe a sprinkling of red pepper flakes would add some heat to this dish
Tabby
rather than roasting walnuts in a pan or hot oven this has become my fave way of doing nuts: soak four cups of nutsmin water + 1 tbsp sea salt for five hours. especially good for taking the bitter out of walnuts. then in a 150 degree oven or lowest setting (mine is 170), spread out on baking sheet and bake 10 hours overnight. store in airtight container.
M.R.
I don't have access to fresh sage - will the dried version do?
Loudon
The missing ingredient here is confidence. Some people can cook like this, and some just want to apologize for cooking like this.
Prunella
I also sauté the sage leaves in butter, taking care to remove them before they turn brown. Place them on paper towels and they will become very crisp. For for this recipe, if you add the walnuts to the same butter and brown them as well, it will add something special to this already delicious pasta dish. Finally, place the drained pasta in the pan and coat with the browned butter. Delish.
Kate
This was good; however, I felt like it was missing something and would add a little lemon juice or white wine to the sauce next time. I did bloom the sage and walnuts a bit in the olive oil. Also added about two tablespoons of butter.
Reesa Raulet
Would love a hint on how much sage and how much walnut…
Bry
Made it, super simple, super delicious!
Jackie
The first time I made this, I added too much sage. I made it again, with day old pasta and much less fresh sage. With no pasta water, I used a couple of spoons of a (mostly pureed) cauliflower/celery soup I make that is a wonderful soup base (can be a substitute for cream). It was much better, and I will make this again.
Dave
Easy enough, but not very interesting.
Bill
Pasta Nada is Pasta Tutto! I went with brown butter and sage, tossed in some precooked broccoli. I thought I was eating off the plate of Stanley Tucci's flick, "Big Night!"
Jenn
Very subtle flavour. I sautéed 75% of sage leaves in butter and sprinkled the raw 25% once ready to eat. Added red pepper flakes and fresh ground black pepper. A great summer dish.
luke
Don’t do what I did and err on the side of caution. If you think you toasted enough walnuts, grated enough cheese, and sliced enough sage- double what you just did. And use a whole cup of pasta water if you’re using a pound of spaghetti.
Betsy
So glad I read this yesterday. Last night needed to make a spur of the moment dinner for a guest and my spouse. We were hungry and late. Didn't have any pasta (not sure how that happened!) but did have 10 minute farro. Sautéed a diced shallot, some garlic, sage from my garden, walnuts and some beautiful oyster mushrooms I got in my CSA. Added some shopped spinach. Lots of parmesan when served. So good! Not so much like the recipe above but inspired by it.
Karen
Not a fan of sage. Anyone tried the recipe without it?
Sherrell
I used soba noodles instead of regular pasta, as I felt it would give it more umami. I didn't have sage and so I used dried thyme. Finally I sliced zucchini into quarters and sauteed them in a pan with slivered garlic. Tossed it all together, excellent!
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