Whole Wheat Pasta with Arugula Walnut Pesto

More About This Recipe

• Before cooking this recipe, I had never made wheat pasta.
  
  This might not seem out of the ordinary to you, but for someone who has made noodles with everything from olives to peanuts to buckwheat, never making a plain whole wheat pasta is a bit surprising. Despite this fact, I think these were some of the best noodles I have ever made in terms of taste, texture, and look.
  
  Paired with a light arugula walnut pesto, this pasta is a delicious treat.
  
  Feel free to do this in the food processor or at least in a bowl, but I prefer the old fashioned well method.
  
  Incorporate the flour bit by bit until it takes on just the right amount.
  
  At first it will be flaky, but as you knead it becomes smooth.
  
  Let this rest in the fridge while you make the pesto.
  
  The pesto is really easy to make, just pop everything into the food processor and pulse a few times.
  
  Vibrant and beautiful.
  
  Back to the dough! Start out by running the dough through the roller a few times at the widest setting, folding it over on itself each time. This will basically finish the kneading process.
  
  See the difference! Now we can start going thinner and thinner.
  
  If you don’t have the noodle attachment, just roll it up and cut with a knife. Make sure there is plenty of flour.
  
  I like to dry my pasta on a sheet to allow the bottom to dry almost as fast as the top and not stick.
  
  Boil the pasta for only about 5 minutes. It should still have some bite to it.
  
  A little bit of the pasta water goes into the pesto to finish it.
  
  Healthier from the whole grains, and super flavorful from the greens, cheese, and nuts.
  
  Oh, and did I mention it’s beautiful?
  
  Dan Whalen would take walnuts over pine nuts anytime. He has been blogging for over four years at The Food in my Beard; check Dan's Tablespoon profile often to try his recipes with creative international spins!