Pellegrino Artusi, the “godfather of Italian food,” included this recipe for a sweet pasta in his compendium of Italian cooking. He notes himself that the uninitiated are usually skeptical, but are instantly won over when they try the pasta.
Believe it or not, this pasta is actually meant to be served as a first course, not as a dessert. The walnut pesto is only lightly sweetened and, when paired with olive oil and black pepper, develops a sweet and savory flavor. That being said, the pesto can easily be sweetened more just by adding a little extra sugar and the pasta can be served for dessert. It’s up to you!
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PELLEGRINO ARTUSI’S SWEET PASTA RECIPE
Makes: Serves 2
Cook Time: 20 minutes
For this recipe, you will need:
¼ cup (30 g) shelled walnuts
¼ cup (30 g) dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons (15 g) powdered sugar
A pinch of ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground cloves
A pinch of ground nutmeg
Salt
5.5 ounces (160 g) spaghetti
Extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh black pepper
Put a large pot of water on to boil. While it heats up, prepare the pesto.
In the bowl of a large mortar and pestle, grind the walnuts and breadcrumbs into a fine crumble. Mix in the powdered sugar, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
When the water comes to a rolling boil, salt it generously and add the spaghetti. Boil until al dente to your taste. As the pasta nears completion, be sure to taste it and add more salt to the water as necessary—an important step as the pasta is only salted at this stage, so the water should be well-seasoned.
Using tongs or a spaghetti fork, transfer the cooked pasta into a large bowl. Drizzle it generously with olive oil and stir to coat all of the pasta in oil and prevent sticking. Add a big pinch of black pepper and about ⅔ of the walnut pesto into the bowl. Stir all together.
Serve immediately, topped with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkled with the remaining pesto.
Buon appetito!