I recently set out to make green mole sauce for enchiladas. I realized, part way in that I hadn’t picked up roasted sunflower seeds when I’d gone to the store. I was momentarily annoyed with myself…but then I realized I had unsalted pistachios in the pantry. Worked perfectly. Adaptability is my new cooking skill for 2026.
This is all excellent advice--but not unexpected coming from such a wise woman in the kitchen. I'm glad you mentioned stale bread and Italian cooking as it is truly the basis of so much good food. Now, not to be overly self-promotional, I would add that the Neapolitan recipe for a pasta with walnuts, just recently posted on my substack (nancyj.substack.com) might be very interesting with pecans. It would lack the astringency of walnuts but gain in richness perhaps. To be determined the next time I have a glut of pecans (dream on!).
I have to post the whole recipe here. It's sooooo good. This is from nancyj.substack.com
This will make enough for 4 people if served as a main course, 6 if served as a primo before a more important secondo, or main course.
1¼ cups (about 125 g) shelled walnuts, the fresher the better
About 1 pound (500 grams) spaghetti, linguine, or other long, skinny pasta
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (about 120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
10 anchovy fillets, rinsed if necessary, coarsely chopped
Sea salt, if necessary
1 cup (handful, about 60 g) minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ cup (about 70 grams) unflavored bread crumbs
If you wish, a small handful each of pine nuts and sultana raisins
Set the oven on 350ºF. (180ºC.)
Spread the walnuts out on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they begin to release their fragrance. It’s okay if they turn a little golden, but don’t let them get deep brown. Remove from the oven, and when the nuts are cool, chop them coarsely and set aside.
When you’re ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add a small handful of salt and then the pasta and start to cook, following package directions for timing but be prepared to take it off and drain it while it’s just barely al dente.
(If you want to add sultana raisins, set them in a small bowl of very warm water to plump, while you prepare the rest of the sauce.)
As the water is heating and then the pasta is cooking, make the sauce: Over low heat, combine the half-cup of oil and the garlic in a saucepan large enough to hold all the cooked pasta. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the garlic starts to soften. Add the anchovies and continue cooking, using a fork to mash the anchovies into the oil. Stir in the chopped walnuts and cook for about 1 minute.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet, toast the bread crumbs in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, tossing and stirring to brown and crisp them. (If you’re using pine nuts, add them to the bread crumbs so they get lightly toasted.)
When the pasta is almost al dente, remove about ¾ cup pasta water and add to the walnut-anchovy sauce. Let it simmer while you drain the pasta, then add the pasta directly to the walnut sauce, turning to coat it well with the sauce as it finishes its last minute or so of cooking. Taste and add salt if necessary (there may be sufficient salt from the anchovies). If using sultanas, drain and stir them into the sauce.
Turn onto a warm serving bowl, garnish with the minced parsley and toasted bread crumbs (plus pine nuts, if using), and serve immediately.
Omg, Tamar, you are such a fine writer. I just thrilled to your words here, and the way your mind works. Thank you. This is a gem, and I hope you collect these in a kind of culinary “Dear Sugar” (the great Cheryl Strayed). I loved your “An Everlasting Meal” and have gifted it to several people over the years. I’m looking forward to reading “Feast On Your Life.”
I wonder if a local food bank might be interested in taking some of the glut off of your hands?
Also, I sympathize! There is an apple tree in my backyard that has some kind of fungal infection that causes all the apples to rot from the inside as they ripen. I gather the unripe windfall apples during the summer and make pectin/jelly with them, but once they “ripen” I just have to shovel them directly into yard waste 😑
I recently set out to make green mole sauce for enchiladas. I realized, part way in that I hadn’t picked up roasted sunflower seeds when I’d gone to the store. I was momentarily annoyed with myself…but then I realized I had unsalted pistachios in the pantry. Worked perfectly. Adaptability is my new cooking skill for 2026.
This is all excellent advice--but not unexpected coming from such a wise woman in the kitchen. I'm glad you mentioned stale bread and Italian cooking as it is truly the basis of so much good food. Now, not to be overly self-promotional, I would add that the Neapolitan recipe for a pasta with walnuts, just recently posted on my substack (nancyj.substack.com) might be very interesting with pecans. It would lack the astringency of walnuts but gain in richness perhaps. To be determined the next time I have a glut of pecans (dream on!).
I have to post the whole recipe here. It's sooooo good. This is from nancyj.substack.com
This will make enough for 4 people if served as a main course, 6 if served as a primo before a more important secondo, or main course.
1¼ cups (about 125 g) shelled walnuts, the fresher the better
About 1 pound (500 grams) spaghetti, linguine, or other long, skinny pasta
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (about 120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
10 anchovy fillets, rinsed if necessary, coarsely chopped
Sea salt, if necessary
1 cup (handful, about 60 g) minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ cup (about 70 grams) unflavored bread crumbs
If you wish, a small handful each of pine nuts and sultana raisins
Set the oven on 350ºF. (180ºC.)
Spread the walnuts out on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they begin to release their fragrance. It’s okay if they turn a little golden, but don’t let them get deep brown. Remove from the oven, and when the nuts are cool, chop them coarsely and set aside.
When you’re ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add a small handful of salt and then the pasta and start to cook, following package directions for timing but be prepared to take it off and drain it while it’s just barely al dente.
(If you want to add sultana raisins, set them in a small bowl of very warm water to plump, while you prepare the rest of the sauce.)
As the water is heating and then the pasta is cooking, make the sauce: Over low heat, combine the half-cup of oil and the garlic in a saucepan large enough to hold all the cooked pasta. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the garlic starts to soften. Add the anchovies and continue cooking, using a fork to mash the anchovies into the oil. Stir in the chopped walnuts and cook for about 1 minute.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet, toast the bread crumbs in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, tossing and stirring to brown and crisp them. (If you’re using pine nuts, add them to the bread crumbs so they get lightly toasted.)
When the pasta is almost al dente, remove about ¾ cup pasta water and add to the walnut-anchovy sauce. Let it simmer while you drain the pasta, then add the pasta directly to the walnut sauce, turning to coat it well with the sauce as it finishes its last minute or so of cooking. Taste and add salt if necessary (there may be sufficient salt from the anchovies). If using sultanas, drain and stir them into the sauce.
Turn onto a warm serving bowl, garnish with the minced parsley and toasted bread crumbs (plus pine nuts, if using), and serve immediately.
Omg, Tamar, you are such a fine writer. I just thrilled to your words here, and the way your mind works. Thank you. This is a gem, and I hope you collect these in a kind of culinary “Dear Sugar” (the great Cheryl Strayed). I loved your “An Everlasting Meal” and have gifted it to several people over the years. I’m looking forward to reading “Feast On Your Life.”
I wonder if a local food bank might be interested in taking some of the glut off of your hands?
Also, I sympathize! There is an apple tree in my backyard that has some kind of fungal infection that causes all the apples to rot from the inside as they ripen. I gather the unripe windfall apples during the summer and make pectin/jelly with them, but once they “ripen” I just have to shovel them directly into yard waste 😑