Fettuccine with Mushrooms and Walnuts

Cookbook: "The Skinny Country"
By: Chef Fabio Viviani

I made this meal last night and it was so yummy. I love eating the "fresh" pasta (fresh pasta in a package). It is better than the dry boxed kind. I am sure even fresher is better for me, but the local Pasta & Cheese shop was closed. Again, using the E-cookbook recipe as my shopping list, I was able to get through the food store quickly and get cookin'!


I am still trying to organize myself to know when to start what, so everything comes out ready at the same time, but I did pretty good last night. Again, in this recipe, the flavours are not something I have had before. It was delicious. I've cooked with herbs in the past...actually, sprinkling ripped sweet basil over a caprese salad is not really working with herbs per se, but...I've stuck some rosemary sprigs in beef stew before! My problem is, I thought I was supposed to eat those branchy things, all these years. Turns out...it is just for flavour and not something you need to eat. FYI: Common sense is not a strong trait in geniuses. I'm just sayin' (lol).

Photo of Chef Viviani from www.health.com. No, he is not cooking this dish in the picture--but we can pretend he is, eh? :o)

So, I added the sage and rosemary to the olive oil and removed them (as much as I could), which allowed the oil to be infused by these herbs. Brilliant! Then, I added the walnuts (what?!) to the oil which was followed by slices of garlic...and mushroom (huh?!). Ok...being Canadian, the only thing we ever have with walnuts is Maple, so this is a totally new flavour for my palate (and my palate liked it...ALOT).

I was trying to keep up with the pasta rising over the pot, with bubbles boiling over--so the pasta was slightly overcooked. Still...whatever..the smoke alarms didn't go off and that alone makes me closer to Chef-hood. :o)



Sprinkled some Romano (freshly grated) *FYI: If you spray cooking spray on the cheese grater, it will help you and your little arms from struggling to get the maximum amount of cheese you so deserve.

Another great recipe from this book--check it out! (I do feel a cookbook hop soon, though--wanting something Spanish!)

Ciao Bella's!
xox