1 cup (gently packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 2 lemons, cut into find (julienne) strips
1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (see following)
Fine sea salt
1 recipe Fresh Tagliatelle Pasta
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges (optional)
Mince the parsley and place it in a large shallow bowl. Add the oil, lemon zest, and pine nuts and mix until well combined. Season with salt , cover, and let sit for at least 2 hours at room temperature.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the tagliatelle, stir, and cook until it is al dente (tender but still firm to the bite), 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.
Add the hot pasta along with the cooking water immediately to the prepared sauce and toss until the sauce is thoroughly distributed. Season with salt and pepper and toss again.
To serve, use two spoons and carefully scoop the pasta, making sure to get pine nuts with each serving. (The pine nuts tend to fall to the bottom of the bowl no matter how well you toss the pasta. Once the pasta is served, simply return to the bowl and evenly distribute the remaining pine nuts over each serving). Serve with the lemon wedges if desired for squeezing atop the pasta.
Toasting Nuts
For almonds or hazelnuts, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the nuts on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake until they smell nice and toasty, usually about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. For hazelnuts, immediately wrap them in a cotton tea towel, let them cool to room temperature, then rub them to remove their skins. For almonds, nothing more than letting them cool to room temperature is necessary.
For pine nuts, preheat oven to 300 degree Fahrenheit and bake for 3 to 5 minutes, checking them often, as they can burn in an instant.
Excerpted from Italian Farmhouse,*
Copyright (c) 2000 by Susan Loomis. Reprinted with permission
by Workman Publishing.
