I love examples of everything-old-is-new-again. Take the—admittedly, likely apocryphal—Socrates quote about young people being disrespectful of authority, or ‘Tiffany’ being a perfectly contemporaneous first name in the 1600s. And I can now add the delicious Tallarines Verdes to my list; this literal Green Spaghetti presents as an exceptionally 2020s recipe and yet it originated in 1940s Peru, fusing the incoming food of Ligurian migrants with the existing Peruvian cuisine.

I found this while perusing Peruvian recipes; though I don’t have easy access to the required queso fresco, some internet research assured me of both feta and ricotta as decent substitutes. As well as the fantastic flavour—and I’ll get to describing that shortly—this recipe is brilliantly fast, taking no longer than the pasta boiling to be done and ready, with only a blender and a pan to wash. The two recipes I consulted took different methods—one cooking the spinach, the other not—and I went for the latter, while instinctively splitting the quantity difference. This near-lack of method makes it ideal for both frantic weeknights and lethargic weekends.

Speaking of ingredients, every supermarket within walking distance has most aggrievously and injuriously ceased stocking that frilly-edged fettuccine—it’s always SOMETHING with the supermarket duopoly, I swear—and I know this would taste better captured in its ruffles, but I settled for linguine instead—a sturdy, but not overpowering width, waiting to be slicked with grass-green sauce.

Now, I wager there’s a chance—a high chance, in fact—that you haven’t cooked anything with evaporated milk in it for a while, and are perhaps even already envisioning substitutes for it. Don’t! Its bewitching sweetness, velvety texture, and plain different creaminess sets this apart. The spinach and basil—the former buttery yet metallic, the latter warm and almost spicily fragrant—meld together to form a united flavour of green opacity. I truly thought I’d prefer the feta here since, well, I like feta, but the ricotta ended up being my preference—softer, more milky, echoing the evaporated milk and blurring the alloyed edges of the spinach. The walnuts get utterly pureed into nothing, but I can sense their presence somewhere in the background; that being said I have also made this while completely forgetting to add them and I can’t say it was wildly noticeable.

As noted, this makes the quickest and easiest of dinners if you’re hurried or harried; the sauce is mellow and luscious yet pungent with basil; and the extra snowfall of ricotta or feta adds a final lush flourish. I love it—according to both recipes it’s quite often served with a steak, but it thoroughly holds its own, alone, without feeling as if something’s wanting. That being said, I omitted the olive oil, a potentially sacrilegious move—if you happen to possess a bottle and a generous hand, by all means add some to the sauce, but I can’t fathom it getting any more delicious than it is already.

For more easy, punchy pasta recipes, I suggest this Truffle Mushroom Pasta with Gremolata; this Pasta with Prawns, Tomatoes and Cream (the last time I had access to frilly fettuccine, evidently) or this Instant Gnocchi, Big Beans and Red Chilli Pesto Sauce.

And if I may, a reminder that you can sign up here to hear irregular and unobtrusive updates and details about my forthcoming 2025 debut novel, Hoods Landing. Find out more, which you probably already know, at my official author website. You can also, thrillingly, pre-order Hoods Landing worldwide and locally for delivery or pickup, and all are welcome to my Wellington book launch (31 October) and Auckland book launch (13 November) where you can also purchase books (and get them signed, if I remember how to spell my own name by that point.)

Tallarines verdes

A lush Peruvian pasta recipe, quickly brought together in the blender with the stunning greenness—and flavour—coming from spinach and basil. Don’t skip the evaporated milk—its specific creaminess is perfect here. Alas, queso fresco is not easy to get hold of, if at all in New Zealand so I’ve given a couple of different options. As always, before going shopping for these or any ingredients, I recommend checking out the Boycott Aotearoa zines so you know which brands to avoid. Recipe adapted from Amigos Foods and A Cosy Kitchen.

• 200g linguine or other long pasta
• Salt, for the pasta water and to taste
• 2 garlic cloves
• 100g baby spinach
• 20g fresh basil leaves
• 70g walnuts
• 100g feta or ricotta, plus about 25g extra to serve—or queso fresco
• 125ml (1/2 cup) evaporated milk

1: Bring a pan of water to the boil for your pasta (or do as I do, and boil the jug, then pour that into your pan and turn on the heat, it probably only saves a minute or two but it feels like you’re doing something.) Add a healthy pinch of salt to the water once boiling, drop in the two garlic cloves for a couple minutes—this will soften their harsh bite before you blend them into the sauce—and add the 200g pasta, letting the water boil around it for about ten minutes or till the strands are tender.

2: While this is happening, place everything else—the 100g baby spinach, most of the 20g basil, the two garlic cloves that you’ve fished out from their brief session in the pasta water, the 70g walnuts, 100g feta or ricotta and 125ml evaporated milk into a blender, ideally one of those very loud high-speed ones, and blend until silky smooth and bright green. Add a splash of pasta water if you need to help it come together.

3: Drain the now-cooked pasta and return it to the pan, off the heat. Spatula your bright green sauce from the blender into the pan and stir it in, letting the pasta’s heat warm it through. Taste to see if it needs any more salt, or perhaps a sauce-ifying extra splash of evaporated milk.

4: Divide the pasta between two plates and scatter with the remaining feta or ricotta and a few loose basil leaves. Eat immediately. This actually does reheat surprisingly well, but I wouldn’t want to do that for anyone but myself.

Notes:

• I prefer the ricotta here but both are incredibly delicious! If you already love feta then you’ll likely also love it here.
• The quantities for the greens are fairly loose—I’m thinking three handfuls of spinach, one large handful of basil leaves (and stems).
• If you have some good olive oil then both recipes called for a reasoable quantity to be added to the sauce; I haven’t had proper olive oil on my shelf for a while given the prices but if you’ve got some, feel free to add it.
• I know I said don’t skip the evaporated milk, but if your shop doesn’t have it I reckon the nearest dupe is reduced cream; and then and only then, actual cream.

music lately:

Daisies by Cooee, led by Gunai artist and writer Kirli Saunders, who I was fortunate enough to meet and share a meal with a couple years back at a dinner for indigenous creatives organised by essa may ranapiri; this song makes you feel held and haunted in the most welcome way. That chorus is…just listen with both eyes closed and both ears open.

The Crying Room by The Yagas. I don’t even know what to DO with the information that Vera Farmiga is an incredible singer with an industrial gothic rock band, but a problem shared is a problem halved, let’s faint about it together.

Flashflood by Romeo Void; I was recently reminded how much I enjoy this band by my excellent mutual Sophia. This song encapsulates what’s so interesting about this era of music—you’ve got that droning chorus that points forward to, say, Faster Disco by Faith No More, but also there’s those squally guitars and the almost preposterously jaunty sax.

PS: Feeling hopeless is a luxury that serves no one but those perpetrating the hopelessness. You can donate to ReliefAid’s Gaza Appeal, who are connected with teams on the ground in Gaza; you can donate to Convoys of Good, another registered NZ charity distributing aid. You can also donate to mutual aid accounts such as the one discussed in this harrowing but necessary story. Don’t be afraid of the non-matching account name when you transfer! As I’ve already mentioned, you can also demonstrate your control and power through the absence of your dollars. Boycott Zine Aotearoa has helpfully put together two comprehensive free zines so you can quickly see who to studiously avoid when buying food, drinks, household items and beauty products.