We got a big bunch of parsley in our CSA share, and we generally don’t use a huge amount each week, so we were afraid that it might just go bad and we’d have to toss it. We didn’t want that, so we searched our memory banks and remembered that some sort of sauce or paste is made mainly from parsley. What is it? Oh yeah, gremolata. Naturally, we looked it up just to be sure, and, yes, it’s basically parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. Well, we can do that.
We went one step further and checked the recipe in Ad Hoc at Home, by Thomas Keller. He adds bread crumbs for an interesting texture and crunch, and serves that gremolata with osso bucco, so we thought, why not use hazelnuts instead of bread crumbs? And have it on pasta? There was our dinner! Simple.
Gemelli and Peas with Hazelnut Gremolata
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup hazelnuts
- 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 lemon
- 4 Tbs flat-leaved parsley finely minced
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 6 ounces dried gemelli pasta or other shape
- 4 ounces frozen peas
Instructions
- In a small skillet over medium heat toast hazelnuts until skins begin to peel off, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Rub off as much skin as possible and chop finely. Transfer to a small bowl.
- Bring a large kettle of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to the package directions, adding the frozen peas when 3-4 minutes of cooking time remain.
- While the pasta is boiling, add about a teaspoon of olive oil and stir to coat the nuts, using more oil if needed. Grate in garlic clove using a microplane. Use the microplane to zest the lemon into the mixture. Finally, add parsley and stir until well-combined.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Drain pasta and peas, place in a heated bowl, and stir in gremolata to taste.
Ingredient discussion:
As you might guess, use any kind of nut you like, or, go with the original Ad Hoc version on which this recipe is based, and use bread crumbs in place of nuts. Use a good quality extra-virgin olive oil; you’ll be adding a touch of flavor with it, so it should taste good. For the garlic, we went with a whole clove, but, actually, found that a bit strong; next time we might cut back to a half clove. If you don’t have a microplane, no worries; simply mince the garlic as finely as you can, and do the same with the lemon zest. Or, toss it all into a food processor and buzz it around. Finally, we always use Barilla brand gemelli pasta, simply because we think it tastes the best.
Procedure in detail:
Toast hazelnuts. We really like toasting hazelnuts for two reasons: first, it makes them taste better, and, second, you can peel off some of that bitter skin so they taste better. For a small amount of nuts, we break out a little cast-iron skillet, put in the nuts, and place over medium heat. Stir or shake every few minutes so the nuts don’t burn, and, after about 15 minutes, the skins will start peeling off and the nuts will look and smell toasted. Remove from the skillet and let cool. Then, simply rub off as much of the skins as you can.
Chop nuts. We use a chef’s knife and go to it, starting with slow even cuts to keep the nuts from flying everywhere. Once we have small pieces, we can start rocking the knife back and forth to finish the job. When you have the nuts finely chopped, transfer them to a small bowl.
Boil pasta and peas. You want the gremolata as fresh as possible so get your pasta cooking before you move on. Don’t worry; once you have the nuts chopped, everything else goes rather quickly. Bring a large kettle of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. Add the frozen peas about 3-4 minutes before the pasta is done. Once al dente, drain and transfer to warmed bowls.
Add oil. Start with about a teaspoon of olive oil added to the nuts, stirring to see if all of them are coated. If needed, add a bit more, erring on the side of too much oil, rather than too little. After all, olive oil tastes good (if yours doesn’t, it might have gone bad, or you’re choosing a bad oil).
Add garlic, zest, and parsley. You want the garlic as fine as possible, so, if you have a microplane, or other rasp-like grater, break it out and grate the garlic on top. Once you’ve finished with the garlic, move on to zesting the lemon. You can use the same microplane for a very fine zest, and it starts removing the garlic scent from your grater. Finally, chop the parsley finely and add that, too. Give it all a good stir.
Season. Taste the gremolata and season with salt and pepper as needed. We found that it needed mainly salt, probably about 1/4 teaspoon or so. We don’t really measure when we’re adjusting; we just taste, add, and taste again, until it’s perfect for us.
Stir and serve. By now your pasta is either done, or almost done, and you should drain it and the peas and place in warmed bowls. Add gremolata to your taste and stir in. Serve immediately
This is such a simple, tasty meal; how can we not give it five stars? If you’re really pressed for time, you can skip toasting the hazelnuts (we wouldn’t), and you’ll have plenty of time to mix up the gremolata while the pasta cooks, making this a meal you can have on the table in about 20 minutes. We like the toasted hazelnuts, as they give a bit of crunch to the dish, and, with the garlic in there, it’s sort of like having pesto, but not quite. Instead, it’s bright and lemony, and the parsley is not as strong as the basil normally used in pesto.
