# Peru Green Spaghetti



## debbie24

My X-SIL is from Peru and her grandma made green spaghetti.  It was so good.  I'm not sure if thats the proper name  but it was spaghetti with a green sauce, i'm guessing made with basil.  It was just so yummy and i was wondering if anyone knows what this is and if they have a recipe they wouldnt mind sharing.  Thanks.


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## healthyfoodie

could it have been pesto?  it's not peruvian, but it's green w/basil.


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## Caine

Just substitute green tomato for red in your spaghetti sauce recipe.


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## kitchenelf

debbie - did it have a sauce of tomatoes or was the sauce just the "green" stuff.  It does sound like pesto since you mention basil.  Did it more or less coat the spaghetti but wasn't "saucy" like a tomato sauce?


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## Caine

I'm tellin' ya, Peruvians make their spaghetti sauce with green tomato puree, which is made by cooking 3 pounds of diced green tomatoes and a couple of tablespoons of sugar in a half cup of water for a couple of hours, then adding a diced onion, a small amount od sun dried tomatoes, heavy cream, and salt and pepper to taste. 

They eat guinea pig, too! I usually don't mind trying new food items, but I draw the line at rodents! In New Caledonia, Civet de Roussette, which is a stew made with fruit bats, is a delicacy, but I don't think I'll be trying that anytime soon, either.


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## ironchef

Debbie, Caine is probably correct but do you think you could be any less vague? Flavors and textures would be very helpful. By green sauce, it could be anything: pesto, a sauce like how Caine described, chimichurri, or a lobster's digestive tract.


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## debbie24

eww hahaha that was funny thanks for the laugh ironchef.  The last time i had it was about 7yrs ago.  It wasnt saucy like a tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce.  It wasnt really dry but not real saucy.  I was thinking it might be a pesto.  Maybe i'll try making pesto one day and see if that might be it.  I tried the jar basil pesto and it was horrible & didnt bring back any memory of that great green spaghetti so thats why i sort of ruled it out and thought maybe someone on here might know another way of making it.  I'm guessing homemade pesto is alot better so i'll try that.


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## jpmcgrew

Jarred pesto is awful stuff you need to make it fresh or the very least buy the pesto where they sell fresh pasta at the store.


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## QSis

I've googled this a couple of times today, debbie.  I think the dish you had was _tallarin verde, _which is spaghetti with a spinach-basil sauce that is creamier than your basic pesto.

However, I can't find a recipe for it!

Lee


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## jpmcgrew

Peruvian Light Green Sauce - Ahi? (Aji?) - Home Cooking - Chowhound - 73k found this with a similiar question.


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## debbie24

QSis thank you.  I'm willing to give that a try if someone has a recipe.


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## kitchenelf

I believe QSis nailed it.  I can't find a recipe either 

It is talked about but I can't put my fingers on an actual recipe.  It's always described as a basil, spinach cream sauce.  I would start with making your own basil, spinach pesto and adding some cream to it.

You can start with this recipe and then when heating add small amounts of cream until you think it looks right.

2 cups (packed) fresh spinach leaves
2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
2 TBS chopped garlic
about 2/3 cup pine nuts
1 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (fresh, not the "green" can)
juice of 1 lime
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 

Put everything except the oil in a food processor (not a blender) and pulse away.  Once it starts breaking down slowly drizzle in oil until you reach a consistency you want.  You may not need all of the oil either.  Keep it thicker since you are mixing it with the cream.


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## kitchenelf

debbie - was the basil and spinach all ground up or was it in julienned strips?

Also, some of the recipes I found include some chopped tomatoes.  

Can you tell us anything else about the sauce?  We need textures, how things looked, how they were cut or chopped.


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## debbie24

Kitchenelf thank you.  I thought it was about 7yrs since i've had it but its been more like 9 or 10.  From what i remember everything was ground up and there were no tomatoes.  It wasnt saucey, it was more on the dry side.  Gosh i hate to do this but i may have to call my x-sil, i remember asking her years ago but she didnt give me a recipe just things to throw together and i honestly dont remember what she said, i'm pretty sure there was basil though.  I'm sure her 80yr old grandma doesnt have a recipe, she probably just knows how to make it.  I'll probably give her a call.  I'll post if and when i find out something.  Hopefully i'll get a recipe and i'll get to share it on here.


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## keltin

I found a blog where a girl and her friend were making Tallarin Verde. She doesn’t give an exact recipe, but she describes what’s in it.

_We shopped for ingredients. She ripped the basil leaves off the stems and put them in a pile and packed the spinach into the measuring cup. She helped peel garlic, measure pine nuts and evaporated milk and olive oil, and dump everything into the food processor. (Yes, it’s basically pesto sauce, but with three times as much spinach as basil.)_

It sounds good.

Does it look like this?


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## keltin

I contacted the girl that wrote that blog, and she didn’t have time to look up and transcribe the recipe, but she said she got the recipe for Tallarin Verde from this book that you can get from Amazon (or maybe even eBay).


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## debbie24

OMG thats what it looks like.  That looks so good, i want to have some now!  Thanks Keltin i'm gonna go take a look at that book.


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## QSis

Ah-HA!   It's evaporated milk that makes it creamy!  Cool!

Lee


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## kitchenelf

QSis said:


> Ah-HA!   It's evaporated milk that makes it creamy!  Cool!
> 
> Lee




Yep, and evaporated milk has that distinctive taste unlike cream or anything else.  I can't wait to make this!!!!!


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## keltin

It sounds and looks really good! Since I haven’t seen the recipe in that book, I’m thinking of using kitchenelf's recipe and modify it according to what I learned from that blog. So the recipe would be this.

2 cups (packed) fresh spinach leaves
5 oz (packed) fresh basil leaves
2 TBS chopped garlic
2/3 cup pine nuts
1 1/3 cup evaporated milk
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Since 2 cups is 16 oz, and that blog said it was a 3 to 1 ratio of spinach to basil, that means about 5 oz of Basil. What do you think Elf.....do you think that will do it?


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## Claire

Is it my imagination, or is this pesto sauce with cream added?


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## GotGarlic

Claire said:


> Is it my imagination, or is this pesto sauce with cream added?



Some would call it that, although the traditional pesto has basil but not spinach. Keltin's recipe has a lot more spinach than basil, so that would change the flavor substantially.


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## Robo410

Not saying this is Peruvian, but have you ever tried Green Zebra Tomatoes?  They are an heirloom variety, green with faint yellow stripes, and a wonderful sweet flavor and tender texture.  I (grew them) made a wonderful green tomato sauce with them, roasting them with basil and garlic and olive oil then pureeing the lot.  OMG ... delish and a great color too!


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## chocaloca

okay... you don't know what you're talking about... it's not PESTO sauce and it doesn't have tomatoes (green or red) at all.... its spinach.


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## QSis

Oh, great, chocaloca! I'm still interested in making this!

Would you post your recipe for it, please?

Lee


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## deelady

I plan to try these two..... 
2 heads romaine lettuce
2 bunches of FRESH cilantro
5 FRESH Jalapeno or Serrano chilies, seeded
1/4 cup mayonaise
1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil (I use vegetable) 
1/3 of an onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
Combine ingredients in a blender. Add small amounts of water if it sticks and gets too thick to blend


*Aji Verde Sauce Recipe*

*Ingredients:* 
3/4 cup fresh cilantro 
1/3 cup Cotija Cheese 
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
1/3 cup water 
2 to 3 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, and diced (keep the seeds if heat is desired) 
1 clove garlic 
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar 
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
*Directions:* 
1) Puree the cilantro, cheese, olive oil, water, jalapenos, garlic, vinegar, and salt in a blender until smooth.


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## debbie24

i know this thread is old but thought i'd come back with an update.  I still havent tried any of the recipes yet but def plan on trying 1 today.  I spoke to x-sil lastnight and this is what she told me but no measurements.

spinach
basil (a little more than the spinach)
cream cheese
a little water

Blend the above ingredients together then fry in pan with lots of garlic, when spaghetti is ready toss in with sauce and thats it.

its very vague but we'll see what happens.

I'm guessing def add s&p and when frying with garlic i'm guessing some evoo.  She said to taste to make sure its good because too much basil and it will be sour.

Will let you guys know how it goes.

Thank you all for the recipe suggestions.

Did anyone else give any of the above recipes a go?


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