Did you ever forge your mother’s signature? I did. Once. And of course I got caught. Duh. That’s how it always goes.
I was 10 years old and got a detention. I’m not afraid to say that my mama scared me when I was little. I didn’t mess with her. So I figured it’d be way easier and less terrifying to just forge her pretty yet complicated signature. She did (and still does) have a really beautiful signature. Think writing out of Downton Abbey (I’m obsessed!).
So, I sat in my room and practiced and practiced and practiced. After about a hundred attempts I totally nailed it. Feeling successful, I turned in the signed detention and started serving my time. I was having fun, actually. The teacher who supervised detention didn’t have anything under control and I remember laughing and joking with kids in the back of the room. It got sort of quiet for some reason and I remember hearing high heels clacking down the hall. At the door was my mama, looking super sharp in a business lady suit, giving me a glare that was SO scary. OMG did I stop laughing. She was truly terrifying.
My mom left me in detention and made me walk home. I remember that loooong walk home and thinking: “I’M JUST GONNA RUN AWAY AND THEN THEY’RE GONNA BE SOOOOO SORRY.”
I went home, faced the music. I was grounded. And then my mom started signing her name in a different way, more complicated, more detailed. ‘Til this day she signs it all crazy-like. I’m to blame.
Nowadays my mama is the total opposite of scary. She’s my bestie. I called her late one night like at 11pm asking her for this recipe. It was one of my favorites growing up. It’s another green Peruvian recipe.
You could call it a pesto, because it sort of is, except there are major differences between this and an Italian pesto.
First, instead of Parmesan you have salty, delicious queso fresco. And to make it a tad creamier, and less oily, there’s the use of evaporated milk. Rather than just basil, there’s a mix of 3 cups spinach and 2 cups basil. My mom told me that in Peru they use more spinach than basil because the basil there is incredibly strong. Foreign facts, I like ’em.
This meal is traditionally served with a few potatoes and a steak. I actually bought a little steak to serve on the side but my refrigerator is broken and has decided to freeze everything. It’s weird. My eggs were frozen yesterday morning. Whatever.
With or without a steak this plate of green spaghetti is just perfect.
Green Spaghetti
Handful of pine nuts
3 cups spinach leaves
2 cups basil leaves
1 cup cubed queso fresco (6 ounces)
1/4 cups evaporated milk, plus 2 tablespoons
2 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons canola oil
Salt
Pasta
1. Add the pine nuts to a small skillet set over medium-heat. Toast them for 2 minutes and until lightly golden brown on each side.
2. To a blender, add the toasted pine nuts, spinach, basil, queso fresco, garlic and evaporated milk. Blend for 30 seconds and until mostly smooth. In a steady stream, with the blender on, add the canola oil until thoroughly combined. Queso fresco tends to be quite salty. Salt to taste now after everything is blended. I ended up adding about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt.
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in well salted water. In a medium-skillet, heat up the pesto; transfer the cooked pasta to the pesto and toss.
Serves 4
I just tried this and the basil was overwhelming. I felt like it was missing something. I would say this was very bitter.
At home, we make this pesto also with some pecans, it give a very special touch. Of course this is a family recipe and each family in Peru has it’s own.
This is very true. I should add the walnuts sometimes soon. 🙂
So I googled tallarin verdes, as I am making a big birthday dinner for my Peruvian boyfriend and his family. His grandmother has taught me many recipes so I take on a lot of others that he asks for that I haven’t learned at her hand. However, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why the “Peruvian”
Pesto recipes were calling for spinach too. Low and behold your blog popped up, funny, because I read it, but must have missed this entry…what a funny coincidence. I just read your blog entry today…thanks!!
Oh hahha. Yep! I really need to put a Peruvian section in the recipe index since I think some of these kinds of recipes get lost. Hope your boyfriend’s family loves this. To make it even more authentic, put a piece of steak on top of the bed of spaghetti. 🙂
There was a huge debate between his father and sister whether it should be steak or chicken…I was like how about the birthday boy decides…thanks again!
Adrianna, what cheese would you suggest to sub for the queso fresco? I have some goat cheese in the fridge. What do you think?