Silky, delicious and intensely green. This Tallarines Verdes (Peruvian Green Spaghetti) recipe will quickly become a staple at your house.
Recipe by Lorena Salinas from Cravings Journal on April 17, 2024
Prep time: PT20M
Cook time: PT10M
Total time: PT30M
Rating
4.44 stars (30 reviews)
Keywords
green sauce, peruvian cuisine, peruvian green spaghetti, tallarines verdes
Ingredients
Olive oil to cook
2 garlic cloves (grated, minced or puréed)
30 g basil leaves
250 g spinach
160 g queso fresco (can be replaced with a firm ricotta or feta cheese)
8 toasted pecans
20 g crackers
180 ml milk (can be evaporated, whole, skimmed, lactose-free, or vegetable)
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to serve
Categories
Main
Cuisine
peruvian
Steps
Remove the stalks from the spinach. This is done by folding the leave in half towards the front, exposing the stalk at the back. Grab it close to the stalk and pull it from the bottom all the way to the top. The stalk will be removed along with the fibre all along the leaf. For further reference watch the video above.
Wash the spinach leaves extra carefully because they tend to have dirt on them. Also, wash the basil leaves.
Cook the garlic with a bit of olive oil on medium heat for about a minute, stirring it constantly. Remove it from the pan and reserve.
On the same pan add extra olive oil and increase the heat to max.
Once hot, add the basil and spinach leaves all at once and immediately add about a teaspoon and a half of salt to them to help them stay intensely green. Mix and cook for only about 30 seconds or until everything is nice and wilted. Be careful not to overcook them because they turn dark and bitter.
Remove from the pan without the liquid they released.
Put all the ingredients in the blender, squeezing the leaves before adding them. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Heat in a pan and mix with cooked pasta. If needed, thin the sauce on the pan with the pasta's cooking liquid. Serve with parmesan cheese.
Reviews
Abigail Thompson on 2023-11-28 (5 stars): I will definitely cook this. I'm living in Peru and love this dish and wanted to know how to make it so thats how I stumbled onto your blog.
Luis on 2023-11-22 (5 stars): I'm Peruvian and this was a hit for my family!