I love creating sauces that are light and flavorful. I received this gorgeous batch of Domenico’s Foods fresh spinach bucatini noodles from Milk and Eggs and wanted to create a sauce that was light, nutty and not made from tomatoes. The first thing that came to mind was to make a mix of brown butter, garlic and roasted nuts. YAAAS! The spinach bucatini is a hearty noodle with a strong spinach flavor so I didn’t want anything to overpower that.
Let’s start by browning the butter. There’s a sweet spot in between butter in its solid state and what happens right before you burn the butter – BROWN BUTTER! You’re basically carmelizing (cooking) butter in a skillet over heat which gives it a nutty flavor and smell. You’ll start to smell it and trust me, you’ll know when you’ve reached brown butter status and you’ll definitely know if you’ve reached burnt butter status. You really have to watch it because once the butter starts to burn you basically need to start over unless you like the taste of burnt butter. No judgment here! 🙂 Add the crushed nuts once you’ve reached golden color status so everything can cook together for a few minutes and the nuts get roasted.
Next, I added a couple of handfuls of fresh organic arugula (another goodie from Milk and Eggs). I really like sneaking in veggies to my pasta dishes. It cooks down so much and incorporates so well that you don’t even realize they are in there but it adds an element of texture and color. You can also add spinach or kale. Clearly, I’m going for green on green on green. hahaha!
Then I added the freshly cooked bucatini to the same skillet and mixed everything together. Toss in a few pinches of fresh cracked pepper and sea salt. It doesn’t take much to make something super delicious. Butter, salt and pepper should be your new BFF’s, oh and maybe some fresh lemon juice. Okay, that’s another recipe. Let’s get back to this one.
It took less 30 minutes to make this tasty pasta dish and that included cooking the pasta. Now for the fun part….PLATING! Don’t forget you eat with your eyes so whether you are cooking for one or for many make sure to plate up the goods.
Look at how gorgeous the spinach bucatini is. The brown butter and roasted hazelnuts give it a nice nutty rich flavor. Remember you can do this with any pasta, with any veggies and with any kind of nuts. GO CRAZY! and start cooking.
Enjoy! And please make sure to follow on all social sites. More “How To” videos on my youtube channel.
All ingredients courtesy of Milk and Eggs. A super cool farm to table, organic online food delivery service for Los Angeles and Orange County. Need more food inspiration and ideas? Go here!
Happy Eating!