Tallarines verdes (Peruvian pesto)

plate of tallarines verdes, often called Peruvian pesto, with basil sprig behind.

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Tallarines verdes (Peruvian pesto)

This bright green pasta is quick and easy to make, smooth, creamy and comforting.

Prep Time5

Cook Time12

Total Time17

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Peruvian

Servings: (or more if smaller/as a side)

Calories: 677kcal

Author: Caroline

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Ingredients

6 oz spaghetti or tagliatelle, see notes
¼ red onion
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon pecan nuts 2 tablespoon is about 8 nuts
2 cups spinach well packed, volume/weight with stems removed
½ cup basil well packed, without thick stems
⅓ cup evaporated milk
½ cup queso fresco see notes (½ cup is around 2 ½oz)
salt and pepper a little, to taste

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions but on the lower end time-wise - al dente is better. Drain and set aside when ready, saving a little of the pasta cooking water just in case.
Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the onion and garlic.
Warm part of the olive oil in a wide skillet/frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook a couple minutes until softening but take care they don't burn - reduce heat and/or add more of the oil as needed.
Add the pecans and toast briefly. Reduce the heat, if needed, and add the spinach and wilt down in the heat of the pan - take care not to burn it, you just want it to soften and wilt. Add the basil, wilt it as well, then remove from heat.
Place the onion, garlic, pecan, spinach and basil mixture in a blender and add the remaining oil, evaporated milk and crumbled queso fresco. Add a little salt and pepper, to taste (bear in mind the cheese can add a saltiness so you may want to only add a little pepper). Blend until smooth.
Return the sauce to the skillet/frying pan and warm gently for a minute as you add the cooked pasta. Toss gently to coat the pasta evenly. If it is very thick, add a little reserved cooking water to loosen it up, then serve.

Notes

Tagliatelle, linguine or spaghetti style pasta is most typical for this but other pasta shapes will also work. You can use slightly more pasta for this amount of sauce (8oz/225g would work) but I like it to be relatively thickly coated with the sauce by using a little less.

If you don't have evaporated milk, you can use regular whole milk, optionally part as a little cream to give that extra creaminess.

Queso fresco is a mild, semi-soft cheese - Mexican queso fresco is very similar and works fine here, if that's what you can get. If that's not available, then a mild feta is probably closest.

Feel free to use a bit more spinach and/or basil to taste.

Nutrition

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