Tallarines Verdes (Peruvian Green Noodles)
By Erica TurnerPublished on July 9, 2025
Time
55 minutes
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
We prefer queso fresco here, but an equal amount of feta cheese can be substituted. Walnuts can be used in place of the pecans. This pasta is quite rich and is typically served as a side dish alongside thin seared steaks, chicken cutlets, or fried eggs.
Instructions
- Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. While water is coming to boil, heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add ½ cup chopped red onion and cook until just starting to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 peeled and halved garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds. Remove from heat and transfer onion and garlic to blender. Set aside.
- When water comes to boil, add 1 tablespoon table salt, 6 ounces baby spinach, and 1 cup fresh basil and cook until just wilted, 20 to 30 seconds. Using spider skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer spinach and basil to small bowl (do not discard water in pot). Squeeze out any excess liquid from spinach and basil.
- Transfer spinach and basil to blender with onion mixture. Add ½ cup crumbled queso fresco, ½ cup evaporated milk, ⅓ cup pecans, ½ teaspoon pepper, and ¾ teaspoon table salt and process until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed. Set aside.
- Return water to boil; add 12 ounces fettuccine; and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain pasta and set aside.
- Add sauce to now-empty pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in pasta and ⅓ cup reserved cooking water and stir until sauce just clings to pasta, about 1 minute. Adjust consistency with remaining reserved cooking water as needed and season with salt to taste. Serve immediately.
Time
55 minutesYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
When Italian immigrants arrived in Lima, Peru, in the 19th century, they re-created their beloved pesto alla Genovese by swapping in a few local ingredients. The result was a creamy emerald-green spinach sauce that generously coated strands of fettuccine. The dish, called tallarines verdes (green noodles), became a staple of the Peruvian kitchen. For our recipe, we started by blanching spinach and a small amount of basil to tenderize them so that they would blend up silky smooth, since a luxuriously creamy texture is a hallmark of the dish. Next, we sautéed red onion and garlic to mellow their sulfuric edge. We blended the vegetables with pecans, queso fresco, and evaporated milk—a staple in the Peruvian kitchen—for a creamy, full-bodied sauce.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
We prefer queso fresco here, but an equal amount of feta cheese can be substituted. Walnuts can be used in place of the pecans. This pasta is quite rich and is typically served as a side dish alongside thin seared steaks, chicken cutlets, or fried eggs.
Instructions
- Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. While water is coming to boil, heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add ½ cup chopped red onion and cook until just starting to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 peeled and halved garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds. Remove from heat and transfer onion and garlic to blender. Set aside.
- When water comes to boil, add 1 tablespoon table salt, 6 ounces baby spinach, and 1 cup fresh basil and cook until just wilted, 20 to 30 seconds. Using spider skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer spinach and basil to small bowl (do not discard water in pot). Squeeze out any excess liquid from spinach and basil.
- Transfer spinach and basil to blender with onion mixture. Add ½ cup crumbled queso fresco, ½ cup evaporated milk, ⅓ cup pecans, ½ teaspoon pepper, and ¾ teaspoon table salt and process until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed. Set aside.
- Return water to boil; add 12 ounces fettuccine; and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain pasta and set aside.
- Add sauce to now-empty pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in pasta and ⅓ cup reserved cooking water and stir until sauce just clings to pasta, about 1 minute. Adjust consistency with remaining reserved cooking water as needed and season with salt to taste. Serve immediately.
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