Magnificent News: Eat Voraciously: Crowd-pleaser

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Here's what's for dinner tonight.

By G. Daniela Galarza

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Crowd-pleaser

Every time I see a recipe that features fusilli, I think of my favorite New Yorker cartoon by Charles Barsotti. It involves a piece of rigatoni and an indelicate phone greeting. So absurdist and good.

Anyway, today's recipe, for Nutty, Herby Spring Pasta, does not require fusilli, but the pasta's tight curlicues are ideal for trapping this lemony pesto-like sauce. The dish, an easy-to-love crowd pleaser, is from cookbook author and crowd-pleaser extraordinaire Tieghan Gerard of Half-Baked Harvest fame. This recipe is from "Half Baked Harvest Every Day," Gerard's most recent bestseller.

"I really wanted to focus on color and balance and bringing in more vegetables and creating a cookbook that was easily adaptable for a lot of food sensitivities," she told Food editor Joe Yonan. "The questions I get asked most are, 'How can I make this gluten free? How can I make this dairy free?' One of the big things with me is that I have been able to please, you know, a little bit of everyone."

You'll notice that substitutions are built right into the recipe. Use any kind of short pasta you have on hand. For the sauce, you can use nuts or seeds. No white wine on hand? Two tablespoons of white wine vinegar mixed with two tablespoons of water will suffice. Instead of dairy cheese, you can use a vegan cheese or nutritional yeast.

I've listed a few more substitution suggestions below the recipe, too.

Today's recipe

Photos by Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post; food styling by Gina Nistico for The Washington Post

Nutty, Herby Spring Pasta

Find substitution suggestions and other tips below the recipe.

To save or print this recipe, view it in our Recipe Finder here.

Storage: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days. Freezing is not recommended.

Servings: 6
Total time: 45 mins

Ingredients

8 ounces baby potatoes, halved or quartered if large
1 pound short-cut pasta of your choice, such as orecchiette, penne, macaroni or fusilli
1 cup fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup raw pine nuts, pepitas, pistachios or walnuts, or a mixture
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon fine salt, divided, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided, plus more to taste
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise through the root
1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, finely grated or pressed
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
1/4 cup dry white wine, such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc (may substitute 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar plus 2 tablespoons water)
3/4 cup (about 3 ounces) grated manchego cheese (may substitute nutritional yeast or a vegan parmesan such as Violife brand), plus more for serving

Steps

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and pasta and cook according to the package directions until the pasta is al dente and the potatoes are barely tender. (The potatoes will take about 10 minutes.) Drain both.

2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the basil leaves, nuts and/or seeds, 1/4 cup of the olive oil, the vinegar, lemon juice and zest and pulse until finely chopped. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper and pulse to combine.

3. Rinse the leeks under running water, separating the leaves with your fingers to make sure water can get in between (to rid them of any gritty dirt). Shake them dry, then thinly slice them into half-moons.

4. In the same pot used for cooking the pasta set over medium-high heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil until it shimmers. Add the leeks and cook, stirring, until lightly browned and soft, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the asparagus, garlic, red pepper flakes, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the asparagus is just tender, about 3 minutes. Pour in the wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the liquid has reduced slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste, and season with more salt, pepper and red pepper flakes if needed.

5. Add the potatoes, pasta and cheese to the pot, tossing well to coat. Add the herby olive oil mixture and toss to combine. Divide among the bowls, top with more basil leaves and cheese, and serve hot.

Adapted from "Half Baked Harvest Every Day" by Tieghan Gerard (Clarkson Potter, 2022). Tested by Joe Yonan.

Nutrition information per serving: Calories: 568; Total Fat: 19 g; Saturated Fat: 5 g; Cholesterol: 13 mg; Sodium: 507 mg; Carbohydrates: 76 g; Dietary Fiber: 5 g; Sugar: 9 g; Protein: 16 g.

Substitution suggestions + other tips and ideas:

In place of potatoes >> try this with radishes. Zucchini or cherry tomatoes would also work, but no need to boil them; instead, add them to the leek mixture along with the asparagus.
If you don't have leeks >> use a large yellow onion, chopped.
This is a pasta dish, but it could also just be a potato dish. >> Omit the pasta and triple the potatoes to turn it into a springy potato salad.