Pasta with spicy almond pesto makes good use of nut butter

For many of us, a fondness for nut butters predates any informed choice of vegetarian options. It goes back to our earliest days and that all-American staple, the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, the flavor of childhood.

Moving to the present, this recipe for pasta dressed up with a spicy pesto suggests using almond butter as an ingredient -- but that's negotiable. The recipe is from the varied collection in "Food & Wine: An Entire Year of Recipes 2006" (Food & Wine Books, 2006, $26.95), the magazine's latest annual cookbook and a notable anthology of good eating.

Until recently, the recipe editor notes, finding a nut butter made from anything but peanuts meant going to the health food store or grinding your own. Today, supermarkets sell a broad range of nut butters and one of them makes a great shortcut for this spicy dish. Try almond butter -- or, for an earthier flavor, hazelnut butter.

Pasta with Spicy Almond Pesto

(Active time 10 minutes, start to finish 25 minutes)

3/4 pound fettuccine

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh sage leaves

1 garlic clove, mashed to a paste

1/4 cup almond or hazelnut butter

1 scallion, minced

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Large pinch of crushed red pepper

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente; drain, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking water.

Meanwhile, to make the pesto, in a small skillet, heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil until shimmering. Fry the sage leaves over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until crisp. Drain the sage on paper towels, then chop half of the leaves. In a medium bowl, combine the chopped sage leaves with the garlic, almond butter, the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil, the scallion, lemon zest, crushed red pepper and all but 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese.

Toss the drained pasta with the almond pesto; add as much of the reserved pasta water as needed to make a creamy sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with the remaining cheese and the whole sage leaves and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

(Recipe from "Food & Wine: An Entire Year of Recipes 2006," Food & Wine Books, 2006, $26.95.)