Name: Pasta with nut paste, pear & borlotti beans
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 600 gram fresh borlotti beans, shelled; 1/2 cup (80g) blanched almonds, roasted; 1/2 cup (50g) walnuts, roasted; 1 clove garlic, crushed; 1/4 cup firmly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped coarsely; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil; 375 gram penne pasta; 2 pears (460g), unpeeled, cut into thin wedges; 1 tablespoon olive oil, extra; 1 radicchio (200g), leaves separated, torn; 120 gram blue cheese, crumbled; 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, extra

Pasta with nut paste, pear & borlotti beans

While this recipe is geared for autumn, you can swap ingredients for the seasons; in spring, use broad beans instead of borlotti beans and bitter salad greens instead of radicchio.

Ingredients

600 gram fresh borlotti beans, shelled

1/2 cup (80g) blanched almonds, roasted

1/2 cup (50g) walnuts, roasted

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 cup firmly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped coarsely

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil

375 gram penne pasta

2 pears (460g), unpeeled, cut into thin wedges

1 tablespoon olive oil, extra

1 radicchio (200g), leaves separated, torn

120 gram blue cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, extra

Method

1.Place borlotti beans in a large saucepan of cold water. Bring to the boil; boil 25 minutes or until tender. Drain.

2.Process nuts, garlic, parsley and pepper until finely chopped. With the motor operating, gradually pour in ¼ cup of the oil until combined. Season with salt.

3.Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water 8 minutes or until almost tender. Drain; reserving ½ cup of the cooking water. Return pasta to pan; cover to keep warm.

4.Meanwhile, season pears. Heat extra oil in a large frying pan over medium heat; cook pear for 2 minutes each side or until golden. Drain on paper towel. Add beans to same pan, stirring for 2 minutes or until heated through.

5.Add nut paste to pasta with enough reserved cooking water for the paste to coat the pasta (do not return the pan to the heat or the nut paste will thicken and make the mixture dry). Add pears, beans and radicchio; toss gently to combine. Season.

6.Serve pasta topped with cheese and parsley sprigs, drizzled with remaining oil.

Women's Weekly Food

Trusted by home cooks for 90 years, The Australian Women’s Weekly’s Test Kitchen and cookbooks hold a singular place in shaping home cooking within the Australian culinary landscape. Today, the AWW Test Kitchen in Sydney is a thriving hub for food content, connected to two bustling photographic studios where a talented team of Australia’s best recipe developers, art directors, editors and photographers create our world class food content. Our recipes are thoroughly tested and tasted and given the Test Kitchen tick of approval, guaranteeing you’ll get great results in your home kitchen.

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Ingredients

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