Linguine with Broccoli Rabe and Walnut Pesto

The piggies are back!  We’ve been gone a while but rest assured, we are here for all of your eating needs.  We wanted to kick off our return with one (of many) of our favorite things to eat: pasta.  I had been eying this recipe for a while and finally got around to testing it out.  It’s the easiest recipe ever (boil water and press a button) and takes almost no time at all, so if you’re a fan of broccoli rabe, there’s really no excuse for you not make this except for your extreme laziness. 

 

We’re on a pappardelle kick, so we used that instead of linguine – I love a good wide noodle that will just soak up the pesto sauce.  We also added in crumbled spicy sausage to get some protein in and a little kick.  Check out the finished product below – it was SO delicious, and we’ll definitely be having this again soon!

 Processed pesto sauce

 Try not to drool

Linguine with Broccoli Rabe Walnut Pesto

Recipe from Food & Wine Magazine

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons walnuts

1/2 pound broccoli rabe, trimmed

1 garlic clove

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch of crushed red pepper

1/3 cup grated pecorino cheese, plus more for serving

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

3/4 pound linguine

Directions

1.    Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the walnuts in a pie plate and toast for 8 minutes, until fragrant and lightly golden; let cool. Chop 2 tablespoons of the walnuts.

2.    In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the broccoli rabe until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and let cool under cold water. Squeeze out the excess water and coarsely chop the broccoli rabe.

3.    In a food processor, mince the garlic. Add the 1/3 cup of walnuts; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the broccoli rabe, olive oil and crushed red pepper and process until the broccoli rabe is very finely chopped. Add the 1/3 cup of pecorino and pulse until just combined. Season with salt and pepper. Scrape the pesto into a large bowl.

4.    In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the linguine until al dente. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the linguine to the pesto sauce, then stir in the reserved cooking water and toss until the pasta is well coated with the pesto sauce. Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts and serve at once, passing more pecorino at the table. 

Make Ahead: The broccoli rabe pesto can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.