Recipe: Chocolate pasta with pecans & caramel
Posted February 18, 2013 4:55 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Recipe: Chocolate pasta with pecans & caramel
By Nigella Lawson
Serves 2
Ingredients:
4 ounces cocoa or chocolate pasta, such as cocoa fusilli
Pinch or two of salt
1/2 cup unsalted pecan nuts, roughly broken up
3 tablespoons solf unsalted butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
7 tablespoons heavy cream, plus more (optional) to serve
Recipe:
Put water on to boil for the pasta and, when it’s boiling, add a pinch of salt and cook the pasta, setting a timer for 2 minutes before the package instructions say it will be ready.
Put a medium-sized, non-stick frying pan on the stove and tumble in the pecans, then toast them over medium heat. Once you can smell their scent wafting up from the pan, remove them to a cold plate.
Now stir the butter and sugar together in the frying pan over a low heat, until you have a hot, thick syrup. Carefully, pour in the cream, stir, and let the caramel mixture bubble up, add the toasted pecans and a pinch of salt, then turn off the heat.
Just before draining the pasta, lower in a cup to remove a little pasta-cooking water, then toss the drained pasta back into the frying pan with the dark and nutty caramel sauce, adding a tablespoon or two of the cooking water, if needed, to help coat the pasta. Stir to combine before dividing between 2 bowls. Serve with a little extra cream in a small pitcher to pour over as you eat, if wished.
