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Pasta in a brown butter sauce with walnuts, pecorino romano pasta, and fresh herbs in a gray bowl.

Walnut, Brown Butter, and Pecorino Romano Pasta

This simple 6-ingredient Walnut, Brown Butter, and Pecorino Romano Pasta is creamy, cheesy, full of crunchy walnuts, and nutty brown butter.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course, Pasta
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Large Pot
  • Skillet
  • Pasta Strainer
  • Cheese Grater
  • Spatula

Ingredients
  

  • 8 oz angel hair pasta
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 tsp fresh sage chopped
  • 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 3 tbsp salted butter
  • 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmesan
  • Fresh Cracked Pepper
  • Kosher Salt to taste

Instructions
 

Cook Pasta:

  • In a large pot boil pasta according to directions on the package. Once cooked to desired tenderness, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water and drain the rest.

Toast Walnut & Herbs:

  • While pasta is cooking, add chopped walnuts, fresh chopped sage, and fresh thyme leaves to a frying pan over medium heat. Stir and toast walnuts and fresh herbs for 3-5 minutes until aromatic and walnuts are beginning to brown. Remove mixture from pan and set aside.

Brown Butter:

  • Turn heat down to medium low and add butter to frying pan. Allow to melt and stir continuously until butter has a deep golden color with a sweet nutty smell. (Keep a close eye on it as it can quickly go from browned to burnt.) Remove from heat and set aside.

Finish & Plate:

  • Add pasta, grated cheese, fresh cracked pepper, browned butter, and toasted walnuts and herbs back to pot and stir to combine. Add a splash of reserved pasta water and stir until desired consistency is reached, adding more pasta water as needed. Plate with a bit more grated cheese and fresh pepper on top and enjoy.

Notes

  • Pecorino Romano has a hard and crumbly texture with a salty, almost tangy taste. If you are unable to find it or would like a milder flavor, Parmesan cheese can be substituted.
  • Fresh sage & thyme give this pasta a lovely earthy flavor. If using dried herbs, use the 1(dried):2(fresh) ratio.
  • The butter in this recipe will be browned which gives it a sweetly aromatic, nutty flavor. I like to use salted butter for this recipe just to enhance the flavor a little more.
Keyword brown butter, brown butter pasta, easy dinner, easy pasta, one pot dinner, pecorino romano, pecorino romano pasta, quick pasta, vegetarian, walnut pasta, walnuts
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