This hearty, meat-free pasta is light, yet very satisfying! It comes together super quickly and is full of textures and flavor. I love whipping this up on chaotic weeknights when I’ve got about a minute and a half to make dinner. It’s always a crowd pleaser. Even my 6 year old loves it!
Here’s what you need:
Who loves pasta? I DO! It’s kind of a go to for us when we are in a pinch. I know it’s not the healthiest option there is so I add in loads of nutritious ingredients and toss it in a sauce that’s not incredibly rich. Life’s about balance, suppose.
Since this a meat free pasta, I’ve added ingredients that are ‘meaty,’ like mushrooms and walnuts.
Start by toasting the walnuts. This intensifies their flavor in addition to making them nice and crisp. Toast them in a dry pan over low heat for a few minutes, tossing often. Keep a watchful eye on them. The second you turn your back on them is the second they burn! While you’ve got your walnuts going, go ahead and start boiling your salty water for your pasta.
Make the sauce.
Sauté the shallots in a little olive oil with a pinch of salt until they are tender and translucent. Then, add the garlic and sauté about a minute more. Next, toss in your diced mushrooms.
The best way to dice mushrooms:
Instead of slicing them horizontally, I prefer to quarter them. You get a much meatier bite that way. Make sure you are using a big pan with a lot of surface space so the mushrooms have plenty of room to spread out and caramelize.
Sauté the mushrooms with the shallot and garlic for 5 minutes or so until they are gorgeous and caramelized.
Use any variety of kale you prefer.
This time I just went for the standard curly, green kale because it’s what happened to look the best today! Sauté the kale for just a minute or two to slightly wilt it. It will cook down further once you start building the sauce so you don’t want to over cook it this early on.
I would not consider this to be a sauce-centric pasta dish. There’s just enough sauce to sort of tie everything together and it’s only made of 3 ingredients: pasta water, fresh lemon juice and a little cream. A quarter cup of cream for this entire recipe is just enough to give it a little body and a little richness without doing too much damage!
Pasta water to the rescue!
Before you go to drain your fettuccine, reserve a good cup full of pasta water. I always do this when cooking pasta, even if I don’t need it, because you just never know. Pasta water is already seasoned and it’s nice and starchy, making it perfect for sauce. Start by adding just about a half cup, then later if they pasta seems too dry, add a tablespoon or two more to loosen it up.
Finally dump the cooked fettuccini into the pan and give it a good toss to coat it with the sauce.
Add lots of fresh, shredded parmesan and your toasted walnuts and dinner is served!
Other recipes to try:
Fettuccini with Mushrooms, Kale and Toasted Walnuts
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts chopped
- 1 shallot diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms destemmed and diced
- 1 bunch of kale about 8-12 leaves, ribs removed and rough chopped
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice about 1/2 of a lemon
- salt
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese plus extra for garnish
Instructions
- Toast the walnuts in a dry pan on low for about 5-6 minutes until fragrant, stirring regularly. Remove from pan and set aside. Boil pasta in a large pot of salty water for about 12 minutes. While cooking pasta, get started on the sauce. Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining. Sauté the shallot on medium heat for a couple minutes with a pinch of salt until translucent then add the garlic and keep sautéing a minute more. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 5-6 minutes then add kale. Season with a bit more salt and sauté for just a minute or two to wilt the kale slightly. Deglaze with 1/2 cup of the pasta water then add the cream and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Add in the cooked pasta and toss until it is well coated in the sauce. Add more pasta water if the sauce has thickened too much but only add about a tablespoon at a time. Add the parmesan and toasted walnuts.