Filled Pasta with Walnut Sauce

Filled pasta with walnut sauce is tortelloni-style pasta stuffed with wild greens and Parmesan, tossed in a creamy walnut sauce, ready in about 1 hour 30 minutes. It feeds 4 as a main course, and the sauce comes together in a blender.

Why This Recipe Works

Squeezing the cooked greens as dry as you can decides how the filling turns out. Water left in the greens leaks out while the pasta boils and turns the filling loose and bland.

The egg goes in only after the filling has cooled. Stirred into hot greens, it would start to scramble. Cooled, it just binds the greens and Parmesan so the filling stays in the pasta.

The sauce is built like mayonnaise. Blend the milk, walnuts, garlic and breadcrumbs first, then add the oil a little at a time. The oil blends in and the sauce turns thick and creamy instead of oily.

Filled Pasta with Walnut Sauce Ingredients

For the filling

• 2 1/4 pounds mixed wild greens (wild dandelion, wild beet, wild marjoram, wild borage, or any other edible greens)
• 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter
• 1 pinch grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 egg, beaten
• Salt

For the pasta

• 11 ounces fresh pasta dough

For the walnut sauce

• 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) milk
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 sprig marjoram, plus extra to garnish
• 2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
• 4 ounces walnuts (about 1 cup)
• A few pine nuts
• 2 cups (18 fluid ounces) olive oil
• Salt

How To Make Filled Pasta with Walnut Sauce

Make the filling

1. Cook the greens: Cook the greens until they are soft. Squeeze out as much water as you can, so the filling stays firm inside the pasta.
2. Season with butter: Put the greens in a pan with the butter, nutmeg and Parmesan. Stir until the butter has melted and coats the greens.
3. Bind the filling: Let the mixture cool, then stir in the beaten egg. Add salt to taste and set the filling aside.

Shape the pasta

4. Roll and cut: Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut it into 1 1/2-inch squares.
5. Fill the squares: Put 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each square. Fold it into a triangle.
6. Fold like tortelloni: Fold the top of the triangle over, then wrap the two other corners around your finger. This gives you a shape close to tortelloni.

Make the walnut sauce

7. Blend the base: Add the milk, garlic, marjoram sprig, breadcrumbs, walnuts and pine nuts to a blender jar. Run the blender until the mixture is completely smooth.
8. Add the oil: With the blender running, add the olive oil a little at a time, as you would for mayonnaise. Adding it slowly keeps the sauce creamy instead of oily.
9. Warm the sauce: Add salt to taste. Heat the sauce very gently and set it aside.

Cook and serve

10. Boil the pasta: Boil the filled pasta in lightly salted water for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well.
11. Toss and garnish: Toss the pasta with the warm walnut sauce. Top with a sprig of marjoram and serve right away.

Recipe Tips

• Use a mix of greens: A blend of bitter and mild greens tastes better than one kind alone. Spinach or chard can stand in for the wild greens.
• Keep the heat low: Warm the sauce very gently. Strong heat can make the oil separate and the sauce turn greasy.
• Seal the edges well: Press each fold firmly and keep the squares small. Gaps let the filling escape into the water.
• Cover the shaped pasta: Keep finished pieces under a clean, lightly floured towel while you work. Open air dries the dough and makes the folds crack.

What To Serve With Filled Pasta with Walnut Sauce

Serve the pasta right away in warm shallow bowls, so the sauce stays creamy. A simple salad of bitter leaves with a little lemon fits well on the side.

How To Store

• Fridge: Keep leftover pasta and sauce together in a covered container for up to 3 days.
• Reheat: Warm it gently in a skillet over low heat with a splash of milk or water. Heat it until hot all the way through.
• Make ahead: The filling and the sauce can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge. Fill and cook the pasta just before serving.

FAQs

What greens can I use if I can’t find wild greens?

Spinach, Swiss chard, escarole or beet greens all work. Use the same weight and squeeze them very dry after cooking.

Can I make this walnut sauce without a blender?

A food processor works just as well. Grind everything smooth first, then add the oil slowly with the machine running.

Is filled pasta with walnut sauce vegetarian?

Yes, the ingredient list has no meat or fish. Parmesan is traditionally made with animal rennet, so check the label if you need a strictly vegetarian cheese.

Why did my filled pasta split open while boiling?

Usually the filling was too wet, or the edges were not sealed tight. Squeeze the greens very dry and boil at a gentle bubble, not a hard rolling boil.

Nutrition

Estimated per serving (1 of 4), worked out from the ingredients.

• Calories: about 780 kcal
• Total Fat: 62g
• Total Carbohydrate: 38g
• Dietary Fiber: 6g
• Protein: 19g

Filled Pasta with Walnut Sauce

Recipe by Paula

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Total time

90

minutes

Tortelloni-style pasta filled with wild greens and Parmesan, tossed in a creamy blended walnut and garlic sauce. A hands-on dinner for 4 that cooks in just 3 to 4 minutes.

Ingredients

• For the filling

• 2 1/4 pounds mixed wild greens (wild dandelion, wild beet, wild marjoram, wild borage, or any other edible greens)

• 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter

• 1 pinch grated nutmeg

• 1 1/2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan (about 1/3 cup)

• 1 egg, beaten

• Salt

• For the pasta

• 11 ounces fresh pasta dough

• For the walnut sauce

• 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) milk

• 1 garlic clove

• 1 sprig marjoram, plus extra to garnish

• 2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs

• 4 ounces walnuts (about 1 cup)

• A few pine nuts

• 2 cups (18 fluid ounces) olive oil

• Salt

Directions

• Cook the greens: Cook the greens until they are soft. Squeeze out as much water as you can, so the filling stays firm inside the pasta.
• Season with butter: Put the greens in a pan with the butter, nutmeg and Parmesan. Stir until the butter has melted and coats the greens.
• Bind the filling: Let the mixture cool, then stir in the beaten egg. Add salt to taste and set the filling aside.
• Roll and cut: Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut it into 1 1/2-inch squares.
• Fill the squares: Put 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each square. Fold it into a triangle.
• Fold like tortelloni: Fold the top of the triangle over, then wrap the two other corners around your finger. This gives you a shape close to tortelloni.
• Blend the base: Add the milk, garlic, marjoram sprig, breadcrumbs, walnuts and pine nuts to a blender jar. Run the blender until the mixture is completely smooth.
• Add the oil: With the blender running, add the olive oil a little at a time, as you would for mayonnaise. Adding it slowly keeps the sauce creamy instead of oily.
• Warm the sauce: Add salt to taste. Heat the sauce very gently and set it aside.
• Boil the pasta: Boil the filled pasta in lightly salted water for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well.
• Toss and garnish: Toss the pasta with the warm walnut sauce. Top with a sprig of marjoram and serve right away.