Ligurian Walnut Sauce

Name: Ligurian Walnut Sauce (‘Tocco’ di Nocci)
Yield: Makes Enough for 1¼ lb (500 g) Pasta
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 1 lb (450 g) unshelled walnuts; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 clove garlic, peeled; 5 tablespoons cold milk; 1 thick slice white bread, crusts removed; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 4 tablespoons cream cheese

‘Tocco’ di Nocci

Preparation info

Makes Enough for
1¼ lb
Pasta

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Italian Regional Cookery

By Valentina Harris

Published 1990

About

Another lovely Ligurian sauce, made with walnuts and olive oil and cream cheese. Normally used to dress the local version of stuffed pasta, it is also very good as a dip or with freshly made tagliatelle.

Ingredients

1 lb (450 g) unshelled walnuts
1 thick slice white bread,

Europe
Italy
Sauce
Vegetarian
Liguria
Mediterranean

Method

Shell the walnuts, blanch them in boiling water and rub off their thin inner skins. Cover the bread in the milk and leave to soak. Reduce the walnuts to a fine powder using a pestle and mortar or food processor. Squeeze the bread dry in your fist, then blend it into the powdered walnuts (this will prevent them from exuding any oil which would give a bitter taste). Crush the garlic to a smooth p