Pasta has never tasted so good before! No meaty sauce, no butter (gasp!) and as fresh as it can be thanks to a intriguingly delicious pesto made from sage and pecans. Yep- Pecans! Or Pe-cans as some would like to call them. Pecans are a family favorite dating back to my childhood years. Growing up my grandmother had a crazy amount of pecan trees in her front and back yard so every fall all the grandchildren would get our “pecan gear” ( pecan picker upper and bucket) and head out to make some mula! By mula I mean serious cash to a 7 year old- like 10 dollars! Yep! I was rich!
I have always been a lover of pecans so when my dad brought me a huge tin of them over the holidays I knew exactly what I wanted to do- pesto!
The pecans give the pesto a strong nutty flavor more so than walnuts or pine nuts and the sage balances it so well. I love this dish for it’s ease and simplicity and I know you will too! That’s it guys- short and sweet! Now u have to get back to my boys!
- Pecan Pesto: (from Blue-Kitchen)
- ½ cup pecans
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, washed and dry
- 1 cup sage leaves
- ½ cup good quality olive oil
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- hot water
- ½ tsp each of salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Pasta:
- 16 ounces of noodles of your choice
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups of fresh broccoli florets or 1 bag of frozen broccoli
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- Toast pecans in a nonstick skillet over a medium-low flame, stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant—about 5 minutes. Transfer to a shallow bowl or plate in a single layer to cool completely.
- Transfer pecans to a food processor and pulse until you have fine pecan crumbs. Reserve ½ cup of pecan crumbs and set aside. Mince garlic and mix with ½-teaspoon salt in a small bowl, mashing with a fork to form a paste of sorts. Combine basil, sage, pecan crumbs, garlic and Parmesan in bowl of food processor. Pulse several times to coarsely chop and combine everything. Add olive oil and 2 tablespoons hot water [you can steal some from the boiling pasta water] and blend to proper consistency. Don’t overprocess—you want a little texture to the pesto.
- Meanwhile, boil your pasta according to package directions. Heat olive oil in medium skillet and saute the broccoli and garlic until slightly tender. Stir in ¼ cup of reserved pasta water. Mix in the pasta and pesto. Toss with parmesan cheese and remaining pecan crumbs.
Hello fellow pecan lover, lol. These are probably the BEST nuts, ever!
I could handle this recipe….I’m not really a butter lover and red sauce and I, well, we dont get along so good…..another awesome recipe for me to try!
Happy weekend!
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We are great devotees of pesto. Peter likes to use pine nuts, but this one is very intriguing.
This pasta dish looks amazingly good! I wonder if other herbs can be substituted in the pesto…
usually my pesto is made up of pine nuts and also tried with almond. Now i’m going to steal your idea of using pecans!
Whoa.. sage and pecan pesto? Lordy that pasta looks fantastic!
Sounds like a brilliant combination of flavors and textures. 🙂
Have a great weekend!
O my O my this looks so amazing, between pecans and pasta it has to be AMAZE!
Like you said reminds me of my childhood, all the grandkids would spend the weekend at my granparents in Pioneer and we would do the same thing except fight over the rollers because we didnt have enough. LOL
Girl this is mouth watering.
Hope you crew is doing well, have a wonderful weekend doll!
sage and pecan pesto sounds really good.
Lovely!!!1
This pasta looks fantastic, I like no sauce, no butter… once in a while we all need a break from those delicious heaven…. right.
B/W Trust me I strongly believe I had much strong business skills growing up than what I have now… My mula… then made me feel much richer…
LOL.
Oh my goodness, this looks so freakin good! Thanks for posting!
Wow, this sound great! I love recipes that use up those bread crumbs that seem to show up in my kitchen!
Broccoli with noodles.. then and add in some pesto.. yes I will definitely be trying this. It looks amazing and it doesn’t hurt that I absolutely love broccoli lol. Have a great weekend
LOVE pesto and never thought about making it with sage. What a fantastic idea. This whole meal looks just so good
Love the pecans in here! Yum. Have a great weekend!
No butter!? Now you’ve got my attention. Seriously, every time I make pasta, I find myself being bad and adding butter, cream, etc. But that’s not to say that I don’t like pasta with just olive oil, etc., I do!! The pecan pesto sounds amazing. x
Mmm…this sounds lovely!! I’ve made a walnut sauce so I just know this will taste amazing!! Pasta is always my favorite go to dinner.
The kids love pesto so this one could be a winner with the whole family! Have a lovely weekend
Looks delicious and can’t wait to try.
Fix spelling: broccoli – may get more search hits
You had me at pesto…and pecans. I’ve made a pecan pesto before but never used sage. That sounds like a really interesting flavor combo. I love that you’ve tossed in some broccoli with the pesto pasta as well. Looks delicious!
$10?? that is some serious mula!!!
love pecans… i’ve never seen a tree!! (but we do have plenty in our freezer, thanks to my grandma)… & a jar of pesto… may have to create a “cheaters” version over the weekend- as my grandma’s actually coming to stay with us!
xoxo
I love pecans too- we had a tree in our yard when I was little. I’ve never made pesto with them but it sounds wonderful! 🙂
Oh my… this sounds so yummy! I love broccoli! and I especially like the bit about the pecan crumbs 🙂 I would add extra crumbs on mine 🙂
HHHhhhmmm…this sounds ever so interesting and the picture is gorgeous! =)
This is a beautiful dish and love how simple it seems. I am a big fan of sage although not of pecan but I think this would convince me. 🙂
That’s a lot of sage, Jessica! Personally I find sage a bit too perfumey, and a little goes a long way…so I’m guessing the basil and the pecans helped make it a bit more subtle. The pasta looks so fresh and delicious…and so close up, I feel like I can just take a pinch of it. 🙂
I love this new inspiration from your post today. I never used sage for cooking before – hmm maybe a couple of times possibly if it’s in the cabinet, but I don’t really remember that I use it, so that tells this is not a well known herb in my kitchen. Your pasta looks delicious though!!! Must be good with this pesto!
I have been inspired by a cooking class to get more creative with pests. This combination sounds incredible. I love pecans and sage yum.
Your pasta looks delicious, and no butter? (gasp indeed!!). Pecans are extremely expensive over here! Wish you a lovely week ahead!
This could quite possibly get me to eat, and enjoy eating, broccoli!
I love pesto! This dish looks extra delicious!
mmmmm! This pasta dish looks so satisfying and delish. I have tons of sage so I am going to give this a shot. I may put it over my new favorite whole-wheat pasta.
I cannot wait to try this; I love the addition of nuts with pasta! I’ve never added sage, but it must be wonderful, especially with your signature of approval! Thanks for inspiring me!
How creative–love it!
Your Southern roots are showing. Great way to use pecans and lots of ’em.
I.want.some.of.this.
This is pasta at its finest, Jessica. Yum!
I just made some pesto to go with broccoli recently. 🙂 Next time I’ll try it your way with pecans.
I need this pasta. It is calling too me. I know…I’ll bring this to my book club Friday. Done, done and so done. Can’t wait!
Okay I could eat a whole bowl of this! It looks so delicious!!
pecans in pesto = brilliance
you’ve got that special Southern twist to enliven these dishes.