What I Ate This Year

I was inspired by this recipe on Shesalty, but was committed to making the meal using only ingredients I already had on hand. This lead to some interesting substitutions, as I had only one zucchini (instead of four), no heavy cream, and only a half piece of bacon.

To maintain the original recipe’s nuttiness without three additional zucchini, I added caramelized walnuts. All else was the (mostly) same.

Very straightforward recipe: first, caramelize walnuts in a pan with water and brown sugar. Heat them on medium-high for about 5 minutes, and then place on lower heat. In another pan, heat olive oil and add diced bacon. After a few minutes, add garlic and onion, and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add a diced zucchini, and pour in the syrup from the walnuts (but not the walnuts themselves). Add salt and lots of black pepper. Cover the pan and cook for twenty minutes, stirring every now and then.

In the meantime, I boiled salted water and added pappardelle. When the pasta was al dente, I drained the pasta (reserving a small amount of the liquid) and added some olive oil. Then, remove the pan’s lid. The original recipe called for 1 tbsp butter and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Lacking heavy cream, I instead used 2 tsbp butter, 1/4 cup sour cream, and lots of red pepper flakes. I added parmesan cheese, the reserved pasta water, and cooked on medium-high until the water was absorbed. Add the walnuts. Place the noodles back into the pan, stir, and serve.

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