Fettuccines with roasted nuts and sun-dried tomatoes

Thomas made an amazing couscous last week, and I ran out of superlatives to describe it to my boyfriend. How can you go wrong with nuts, seeds, butter and love? The fragrant melted butter impregnated the couscous, and this deliciousness was a revelation to me, because I am accustomed to healthier, dryer couscous. The leathery chewiness of the sun-dried tomatoes was treat. Thomas told me he also likes a variation of this recipe with fresh pasta filled with cheese and spinach instead of the couscous semolina. But today, I only had dry fettuccines in my pantry. Why not give it a try?

I chopped almonds, cashews and pecans and threw them in the pan along with pepito (pumpkin?) seeds, sun-dried tomatoes and a generous amount of butter and olive oil. (I wish I had pine nuts like Thomas.) I let the nut mixture roast on low heat, stirring occasionnaly, while the pastas where cooking. I added to the nuts 2-3 pinches of salt, freshly ground pepper and maybe a tablespoon or two of maple syrup. The nut mixture was simply served on top of the fettuccines. Simple is beautiful.