Olive-Walnut Pasta

By Ali Slagle

Updated January 28, 2021

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(1,444)
Comments
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Double down on the olive oil flavor in this dish by warming a generous amount with torn green olives to dress your pasta. While you can use just one kind of olive, like mild Castelvetrano, a variety will create depth of flavor. Adding chopped walnuts provides texture and a nice dose of protein to this vegan dish, while lemon zest and juice perk everything up. It would also be good with soft herbs like oregano, dill or basil, a salty cheese like feta or Parmesan, or shrimp that's been cooked with the pasta in the last few minutes of boiling.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • Kosher salt and black pepper

  • 1 pound short pasta, like orecchiette, cavatelli, fusilli or elbows

  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2 cups chopped walnuts

  • 1 ¼ cups Castelvetrano olives (or a mixture of green olives), pitted and torn

  • 1 small garlic clove, peeled

  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced (about 3 tablespoons juice)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

98 grams carbs; 1100 calories; 28 grams monosaturated fat; 31 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 72 grams fat; 9 grams fiber; 612 milligrams sodium; 24 grams protein; 5 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water’s boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain.

  2. Step 2

    While the pasta’s cooking, in a large Dutch oven, stir together the olive oil, walnuts and olives. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and the walnuts are toasted, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, finely grate in the garlic clove and season with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir to combine.

  3. Step 3

    Add the pasta and ¼ cup pasta water to the walnut mixture. Cook over medium-low, stirring and adding pasta water as needed, until the pasta is well coated. Remove from heat and stir in half the lemon zest and all the lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper and more lemon zest.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,444 user ratings
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Comments

Alan

Made this tonight and it was quite yummy. The proportions were a bit off: definitely too many walnuts (I would go with 1 cup next time) and more olive oil than needed (I would use 1/4 or 1/3 cup). We served with grated parmesan and it worked well.

Kelly

Used olive tapenade and it was quick and easy. Delicious.

jz

Added frozen peas to the pan after adding pasta. Cooked up easily and added a vegetable.

Mary

I see what she was going for with this recipe but it didn’t quite come together for us

Glynis

This was quite good--I did decrease the walnuts. I think it would have been better if the walnut/olive mixture, after sauteing, was partially blended. This would allow the substances to coat the pasta. As it was, they just lay in the bottom of the serving bowl.Very tasty though

CAPhyl

Made this a second time for 2 people (much less pasta and 1 cup walnuts) and it was great again. Added just over a T of capers, Italian seasoning and handfuls of spinach at the end. I also used jalapeño stuffed olives, as that's what I had. Very tasty.

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