Tallarines Verdes is a Peruvian pasta dish with a distinct color and flavor. This colorful dish features a creamy pesto made from simple, wholesome ingredients. It’s a delicious dish that will satisfy any pasta lover!
Happy Valentine’s Day <3
I hope everyone is having a wonderful day celebrating the people they love. I thought pasta would be a great dish for Valentine’s day because what’s cuter than sharing pasta noodles with your favorite person? But of course I had to be just a little different and share a recipe for a pasta dish that might be new to some people.
We’re all about trying new things!
What is Tallarines Verdes?
Tallarines Verdes translates to “green noodles” and it features pesto that’s made with queso fresco and evaporated milk. The milk makes this dish creamier and a sweeter than most Italian style pasta dishes, and it’s incredibly delicious. Tallarines verdes is often served topped with meat, but I think the pasta is an amazing meal by itself.
Typically, pesto, including the pesto in this recipe, uses pine nuts or walnuts. I had to add a bit of my Caribbean flair by adding water crackers instead. I don’t know any Jamaican who didn’t grow up eating water crackers. They are such a staple so I knew I had to use them in this recipe. It sounds weird to add crackers to a pasta dish, but they help to thicken the sauce and add some salt. This step is totally optional!
The recipe…
This recipe is mostly about making the pesto sauce for the pasta. As with all Spanish and Caribbean recipes, everyone makes theirs a little different. My tallarines verdes recipe is pretty simple, but tastes amazing!
For the pesto, start by sauteing garlic. Add spinach and basil and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Blanch the spinach and basil in ice water to retain the color. Add cooled spinach, basil, garlic, cheese, water crackers, evaporated milk, olive oil, salt, and pepper to a high powered blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Ooh the blender shot! Look at that vortex.
Boil pasta in a saucepan with salt until pasta is al dente. Drain and reserve some of the pasta water to thicken the sauce. Add pesto sauce, reserved pasta water, and pasta back to a pot and stir to coat. Plate pasta and garnish with cheese and basil. Enjoy!
Substitutions…
There are a few substitutions you can make for this recipe.
First, you can use coconut milk in place of evaporated milk. You’ll get a thicker, sweeter sauce, which I think is delicious!
Another substitution is with the type of pasta. I used linguine pasta, but spaghetti noodles are more traditional. Feel free to use whatever kind of pasta you like!
Lastly, many tallarines verdes recipe use walnuts instead of crackers for the pesto. This will make a more traditional pesto with a higher fat content.
Looking for more delicious recipes? Try:
Meatless Dominican “Beef” Empanadas
Share this recipe…
If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know by rating it and leaving a comment below. I would love to hear from you. And don’t forget to tag @sweetandsorrel on Instagram!
Tallarines Verdes
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups spinach
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- handful water cracker, crushed
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk use 1/2 cup for a thinner sauce
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup queso fresco or feta
- salt and pepper
- 1 lb pasta of choice
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Saute garlic for 2 minutes. Add spinach and basil and cook until wilted. Blanch the spinach and basil in ice water to retain the color.
- Add cooled spinach, basil, garlic, cheese, water crackers (or walnuts), evaporated milk, olive oil, salt, and pepper to a high powered blender. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Salt heavily. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta, but reserve some of the pasta water to thicken the pesto sauce. Add pesto sauce, reserved pasta water, and pasta back to a large pot and stir to coat the pasta. Plate pasta and garnish with cheese and basil. Enjoy!
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @sweetandsorrel on Instagram and hashtag it #sweetandsorrel so we can see all the deliciousness!
