SERVES: 4
COOKING TIME: 25 minutes
PREP TIME: 5 mins
The only thing better than spaghetti is spaghetti with a story.
When he wasn't being a ruthless mobster, Al Capone ate Walnut Spaghetti. This humble dish was apparently his favourite meal. That's saying something given Al was obsessed with the finer things. And could afford all of them.
At the height of his power, Mr Capone was worth about US$1.5 billion in today’s money. That's a lot of clams.
As the story goes, the family recipe was from his mother's side.
Mrs Scarface—or Teresina Capone as she probably preferred to be known—was an Italian immigrant with an unwavering devotion to family. And Teresina’s kitchen would have been a world away from the gritty streets where her son ruled his empire.
The pasta, a simple symphony of garlic, olive oil, and crushed walnuts, was a hallmark of Teresina's Neapolitan heritage. Each mouthful would have held memories of their modest immigrant life, a world Capone left behind in his pursuit of power.
INGREDIENTS
400 g spaghetti, cooked and drained
⅔ c extra-virgin olive oil
1 bulb garlic, roughly chopped
1 ½ c walnuts
1 fresh chilli, sliced – more or less to taste
½ medium onion, finely diced
1 c flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 large lemon, zest and juice
1 t salt
Lots of freshly ground black pepper to taste
⅓ c grated fresh parmesan cheese
TO SERVE
Grated parmesan cheese
Fresh tomatoes
Chopped parsely
*Great recipe to season the pan with a long slow simmer of aromatics in oil forming the basis of the walnut sauce! Tastes, warm, earthy, grounding and healthy. Add or reduce oil according to your liking.
METHOD
To start, divide the walnuts in half. You will medium chop half of them and swiftly pulse the remaining half in your high speed blender to resemble bread crumbs.
Pour the olive oil into your Legacy Pan and over a low to medium heat gently simmer the chopped walnuts, onion garlic and chilli in the oil until the garlic and onions are lightly browned. It will take about 20 minutes. Don’t be tempted to raise the heat, enjoy the process, channel your inner Italian grandmother and smell the wonder. At the end of the cooking stir in the ground walnuts and cook for a further minute.
The easiest way to evenly distribute the walnut sauce through the pasta is to move half the oil/walnut mix into a heat proof bowl and return the pan to the stove top.
Over a high heat and using tongs, add half the pasta and toss into the walnut sauce. Now add all remaining ingredients and toss again till well combined.
Adorn with fresh tomato, extra parmesan and chopped parsley.
Serve hot to the table with a crunchy fresh salad.