WALNUT SAUCE
OURS IS BREAD- AND MILK-FREE: HOW TO USE IT, WHICH PASTA, HOW TO STORE IT
Along with pesto genovese, walnut sauce is the best known condiment in the Ligurian gastronomic tradition.
Both specialities originate as mortar-made sauces, and both have their origins in a base of crushed garlic, which we can identify as the ancestor of almost all of the crushed sauces typical of the cultures of the Mediterranean arc, which are thus ultimately more elaborate modern variants of the sauce known today as 'agliata' (or similar name, depending on the area).
The special feature of the modo21 walnut sauce sold on our site is that it is made with fresh walnuts, garlic, oil, salt and marjoram, to which you can add bread and/or dairy products as desired to complete the original recipe according to your preferences, including your diet.
How to use walnut sauce
Since it is mainly used as a condiment for pasta, walnut sauce is called a sauce and not a cream or paté, but it remains a condiment that must be used cold and uncooked.
In fact, it was originally made by crushing all the ingredients in a marble mortar, a custom that has gradually been lost with the ever more widespread presence of blenders and small appliances in the homes of the Genoese; also because, unlike Genoese pesto in which there is basil that suffers from heat, there is no problem of overheated blades ruining the quality of the ingredients.
Since our walnut sauce is different from all others, before adding it cold to the dish to season the pasta, an additional step is necessary: modo21's walnut sauce is a base of fresh walnut kernels, garlic, oil, salt and marjoram; we do not use bread or dairy products, which are among the main ingredients of the original walnut sauce recipe, because we prefer to give you the choice of how to complete the sauce according to your taste and diet.
Traditionally, in addition to the ingredients already in our jar, bread soaked in milk or fresh cheeses such as prescinseua, which is an acidic curd typical of the Genoa area (vaguely reminiscent of ricotta in consistency) should be added. Grated mature cheeses such as parmesan or grana can be mixed with the sauce or sprinkled over the seasoned pasta at the time of serving.
The proportions we recommend for a 150 g jar of modo21 walnut sauce are 30 g of breadcrumbs soaked in 70 ml of milk to be added before seasoning (to be adjusted according to taste with 30 g of Parmesan cheese and taste for salt if necessary): at this point the sauce is ready and you can finally season it!
You can use it for a kilo of pansoti. It's all very simple, practical and quick!
How to store walnut sauce
Although the walnut sauce for sale online at Molo modo21 is dairy-free (which you can then add to taste before dressing the pasta), it is still a fresh sauce that must therefore be stored in the refrigerator. Our nut base is to be stretched to be used with pasta, and with a 150 gram jar - like the one you will receive at home - you can make a sauce with which you can season up to a kilo of pansoti, or other fresh filled pasta.
Remember that there is a difference in yield between the different types of pasta, differences that we will quickly summarise here: a fair portion of pansoti (or ravioli, etc.) is considered to be about 200 grams per person, which is equivalent to 80/100 grams of dry pasta and 150 grams of fresh but not filled pasta. Therefore, even though it is only one jar, the final yield in the dish is a lot, up to 5 portions: if you already know how much pasta you are going to serve, it is better to use only as much as you need and not the whole jar; in this way the walnut sauce keeps better since you have not added bread or dairy products, you can also decide to freeze how much you have left over to use when needed.
How to season walnut sauce with which pasta
Walnut sauce is inextricably linked to pansoti with which they form a dreamy couple.
Pansoti is a fresh pasta filled with a lean filling (i.e. a filling without meat, but with a base of local vegetables such as borage and cheese) originating in the Eastern Riviera area of Genoa. Over the years, pansoti have taken on various shapes, depending on the area of production, and you can find them made in the shape of a crescent, a triangle or as a large pot-bellied tortello (and given the name, 'pansoto'/'pansa'/'belly', this is probably the most traditional format). These ravioli are seasoned almost exclusively with walnut sauce, or at most with butter and fresh sage.
In Liguria, walnut sauce is also used to season croxetti del levante (a format of pasta that resembles a coin, being small disks made in a mould with raised designs on both sides) or chestnut trofie (in general, it is a sauce that goes well with the rustic flavours of chestnut or whole-wheat dough).
As our walnut sauce is specifically a base without bread or dairy products, you can actually choose it to use as you like, in many other recipes and not only to season pasta but also for example as a sauce for sandwiches, bruschettas and canapés, or to dip vegetable crudités or even to accompany a cheese board.
