Salsa Con Le Noci (Walnut Sauce)

  

  
Can you name the five towns of Cinque Terre?  Hiking the rugged coastline of this stretch of Liguria, part of the Italian Riviera, you can visit them all in a day.  The towns are noted for their beauty, a colorful kaleidoscope of Mediterranean pastels hugging the cliffside every mile or two.  The sea below is dotted with fisherman, who provide not only the region's bountiful seafood harvest, but many times the only real mode of transportation between the isolated villages.  Above the towns, terraced steps of vineyards and orchards add to the natural variety, producing not only grapes and olives, but also pine nuts that have made Ligurian pesto sauce world famous.  
   
While we all know and love basil pesto, another sauce popular in Liguria is walnut sauce.  However, it's hard to say there is a single Ligurian recipe for walnut sauce.  The Romans may claim that there is only one authentic Roman way to make their amatriciana sauce, but that is not the case for walnut sauce.  Perhaps it is the multiple and isolated coastal Ligurian towns that allow for different forms of creativity to blossom and prosper.  Each little village may have their own way of making a walnut sauce.  True or not, we have a variety of ways to make this savory, rich, cream based sauce with walnuts.  Some recipes call for soaking a slice of bread in milk to act as thickener, others for bread crumbs.  Some call for a bechamel sauce with a butter and flour roux and milk, while others call for reducing cream.  Many suggest adding parmesan cheese like a pesto, some call for topping with asiago or pecorino, others even for ricotta.  Historically, a Ligurian might have used prescinseua, as they call sour milk in their local dialect.  Modern recipes may try to recreate that with sour cream.  The recipe I suggest strives for that savory richness within an appropriate amount of time and effort.  No need to break out your mortise and pestle to hand grind the walnuts, or hunt for prescinseua at an Italian gourmet market.  Just a few basic ingredients, a turn in the food processor, and a little pasta cooking liquid if needed.  Enjoy and p.s. the five towns of Cinque Terre are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.  Serves 2.
    
Ingredients:
1/2 lb pasta such as linguine, spaghetti or a cheese ravioli if preferred
3/4 cup of shelled walnuts
1 slice of bread
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cup grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped basil 
     
Directions:
In a medium pot of salted water, cook the pasta.  Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a heated skillet, taking care not to allow to burn.  Soak the slice of bread in the heavy cream and drain off the excess.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the walnuts for a garnish and place the rest in a food processor, along with the bread, garlic, oil and salt and pepper to taste.  Process to form a paste.  Remove to a bowl and stir in the cheese and basil.  Add some of the cooking water if needed to loosen the sauce.  Drain the pasta and mix in just enough sauce to coat the pasta.  Serve and top with the reserved walnuts pieces.