Toasted Walnut Pasta with Peas and Mushrooms

This may be your new addiction! Crunchy, toasted walnuts and breadcrumbs tossed with pasta, mushrooms and peas is a great, quick meal. And there are no added fats or dairy (unless you top with a bit of cheese), but you really don’t need to.

The inspiration came from some stuffed mushrooms that I served to guests over the holidays.  I combined a couple of recipes that I’ve used in the past from two of my favorite chefs (Ina and Giada) and made the mushrooms with chopped walnuts.  They were so decadent without any other meat or sausage that I thought that combination would be super yummy over pasta.

The key to this dish is toasting the breadcrumbs and the walnuts.  Just a few quick stirs with some added seasonings and you have a flavorful crunch fest!

Truth be told I have never have made my own breadcrumbs until recently.  Over the Thanksgiving holiday I had quite a bid of leftover bread cubes from making stuffing and thought I should throw it in the food processor. I froze the crumbs in 1 cup portions to use in new recipes.  I’m glad I did.

Recipe – Serves 2

1/2 cup of plain breadcrumbs

1/3 cup of choped walnuts

1/4 teaspoon of onion powder

1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons of chopped parsley

4 to 6 button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup of frozen peas

1 teaspoon of steak seasoning (optional)

4 ounces of pasta

Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

In a small nonstick skillet, toast bread crumbs and walnuts over medium heat, stirring until golden brown. Add the onion powder, the garlic powder, salt and 1 tablespoon of the parsley. If using Italian breadcrumbs, skip this step. Set aside.

Fill a medium sized pot of  water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook per package directions. While pasta is cooking, heat a medium nonstick skillet over low to medium heat and add mushrooms with a few tablespoons of water and steak seasoning. Cover and let cook a few minutes until golden.  Add frozen peas and stir until peas are heated through.

Drain pasta and reserve 1/4 cup of the water. Add pasta to pan with peas and mushroom and stir to combine. Add remaining parsley and all but two tablespoons of the walnut mixture.  If pasta seems dry, add the reserved pasta water and stir to combine.

Top with remaining walnut mixture and optional parmesan cheese.