Earlier this evening, after logging in a bit too late to identify a photo of a very young Al Capone in another thread, I decided to browse the Net and do a little reading about Big Al.

Then, I saw the following in a Wikipedia article:

Capone's signature dish was spaghetti and walnuts served cold.

Hmmm... Considering the grand lifestyle that Capone enjoyed (at least, until Alcatraz), I was a little surprised to read this. A very basic dish. And, served cold. (Like Revenge?)

Well, hot or cold, in short order I found some nice recipes; one is from the NY Times website by noted foodie, blogger, author and omnivore Mark Bittman:

**************************

January 26, 2009, 12:19 pm

Recipe of the Day: Pasta With Walnuts and Olive Oil

By MARK BITTMAN

This sauce transforms even plain dried pasta into an extremely satisfying vegetarian dish, showcasing the bittersweet taste, gritty texture and richness of the walnuts. Garlic is an essential component (of course).

Yield: 6 appetizer servings, or 3 to 4 main course servings

Time: 20 minutes

Summary

You can substitute pecans for the walnuts. Or you can make a sauce more like pesto by substituting basil for the parsley; fresh marjoram would also be delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnut or pecan halves
• 1/2 cup loosely packed parsley leaves, washed and dried
• 1 clove garlic
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound linguine, spaghetti or other long pasta

Method

• 1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Meanwhile, combine nuts, parsley and garlic in a small food processor and turn machine on. (Or use a mortar and pestle.) Add oil gradually, using just enough so that mixture forms a creamy paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• 2. Cook pasta, stirring occasionally, until it is tender but not mushy. When it is ready, drain it, reserving a little cooking water. Toss with sauce. If mixture appears too thick, thin with a little more olive oil or some of the pasta cooking water.

Variations

• Pasta With Creamy Walnut Sauce: Omit garlic and olive oil. Combine nuts, parsley and a few small chunks of Parmesan (or about 1 cup coarsely grated Parmesan) and process as above. When mixture is grainy, transfer it to a bowl and combine with 3/4 cup creamy ricotta, heavy cream or half-and-half; mixture should be the consistency of creamed butter. Toss cooked pasta with sauce, thinning with cooking water as necessary. Serve, passing additional Parmesan at the table.

**************************

Another take on this dish can be found here:

Recipes We Would Die For

(I guess the vino and the baseball bat are optional. )

Think I may give this one a try. Strange to relate, but though I've heard of walnut sauces for a number of years, I've never actually gotten around to making one myself. Since I bought the necessary ingredients a little earlier this evening, I guess there's no time like the present to give it a shot (no pun intended).

Perhaps this is how "Big Al" got so big...

Signor V.