On Friday I foraged for, cleaned, shelled, and ate walnuts.
In our yard we have a walnut tree. It’s not a beautiful tree, but a delicious one. I’m guessing if you didn’t know what walnuts started out looking like, there is no way you would pick up these things from the ground and even consider eating them. Luckily for me, Dendrology I & II from college is paying off.
So first I cleaned off the rotted nasty, black, squishy flesh.
Next crack them open and hope the meat isn’t rotted, nasty, black, squishy meat.
I found about 50% of the nuts in my first foraging were edible. After Rory had his share, I probably had about 2 cups.
And the next phase was obvious. Make pasta and eat with nuts. Drink with Red wine and eat with bread.
Penne Pasta with Butter and Walnuts:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups walnuts
3T butter
3T extra virgin olive oil
1 pound penne pasta
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Boil Pasta
Sautee onion with the butter and oil. Sautee the onion about 10 minutes until onions are soft and translucent and the oil and butter are nicely flavored.
Drain pasta and return to pot. Toss pasta with onion, oil, butter and walnuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with the grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Sounds and looks heavenly.... All of it. What a great way to spend a day :)
ReplyDeleteWow, you are making me hungry. That looks divine, especially since it's from your own tree and is being eaten in ITALY!! Jealous.
ReplyDeleteAwesome. I grew up with a walnut tree in the yard. And now I'm nostalgic for home. And Italy. (Can you be nostalgic for a place you've never been? Probably not. I was at the Rome airport once.)
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