Nothing says summertime like fresh pesto pasta with perfectly ripe cherry tomatoes. It's one of the easiest pasta dishes to throw together last minute, taking less than 30 minutes with flavor that will leave you wanting more. This dish is not only vegetarian, but it's also gluten-free and if you wish, skip out on the parmesan cheese and make it vegan. This dish definitely fits the healthyish category, but will leave you feeling satisfied with that comfort food feeling.
In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add in the pasta of your choice.
I chose a gluten-free pasta.You really can't tell the difference and I personally love the fact that it leaves me less bloated than a gluten pasta. My go-to is Jovial brown rice (I used fusilli for this recipe), but you can choose whichever you'd prefer. There's a variety of options available for gluten-free pasta now, you could go with a cauliflower or even quinoa, both are good.
Cook pasta for 10 minutes, or follow the directions on the pasta packaging that you chose. IMPORTANT: before you drain the pasta, save 3/4 cups of the water and set aside. Drain the pasta and return back to the pot.
Now it's time to make the pesto sauce. First things first, you will need either a food processor or bullet to make this sauce.
In a small saute pan, add in 1/4 cup of pine nuts. Toast the pine nuts in the dry pan until they are golden brown. Be careful not to burn them. Remove from heat and add to the food processor. Make sure to save a handful for garnish.
Remove the stems from the basil leaves and tightly pack 2 cups of fresh basil leaves. Then, add the basil to the food processor.
Add in 1/3 cup of olive oil, lemon juice of one full lemon, 4 cloves of peeled garlic, and 2/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan. I get the block of Parmigiano Reggiano from Whole Foods. If you haven't tried it, please do!! It's by far the best parmesan cheese I've had. Any shredded parmesan will do though. And of course if you would like to skip out on the cheese, the dish would be considered vegan and the sauce would be just as fresh and delicious.
Lastly, add in salt and pepper to taste. Be careful with the salt, as the parmesan cheese is salted. Also, keep in mind that processed pesto is much saltier than freshly made pesto, because salt is also used as a way to preserve.
Then, go ahead and pulse the food processor until you have reached the desired texture of pesto sauce you would like.
Add the pesto sauce into your pot with the drained pasta. Stir until all of the noodles are fully coated, then stir in the 3/4 cups of pasta water that you had set aside, mix until well combined. You will want to place this pot over low heat in order to allow the sauce to warm on the noodles. This also allows the parmesan cheese to adhere to the noodles.
Meanwhile, slice the dozen cherry tomatoes into halves and set aside. Heat a small dry saute pan over high heat. Add in the cherry tomato halves and cook them until they become blistered and a bit charred. A few minutes. Remove from heat and fold them into the pesto pasta.
Serve immediately. Garnish with shredded parmesan cheese and the toasted pine nuts that were set aside.
Skip the Parmesan and Make it Vegan.
INGREDIENTS:
12oz. Jovial Gluten Free Fusilli Brown Rice Pasta
A dozen ripe organic cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
3/4 cup of pasta water
Fresh Pesto Sauce Ingredients:
2 large bunches of organic fresh basil, about 2 cups packed, when stems are removed
1/4 cup of pine nuts, save a little for garnish
1 large organic lemon, juiced
4 cloves of organic garlic, peeled
2/3 cup of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/3 cup of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Bring salted water to a boil. Add in the Jovial gluten free fusilli pasta and cook for 10 minutes. Otherwise follow the directions on the packaging of the pasta of your choice. Before you drain the pasta, save 3/4 cups of pasta water and set aside. Drain and return to pot.
Fresh Pesto:
1. Toast pine nuts in a dry pan until they turn golden. Be careful not to burn them. Set aside a couple tablespoons of the toasted pine nuts for garnish. Pour the rest in the food processor.
2. Remove the stems from the basil leaves and tightly pack 2 cups of basil leaves and add to the food processor.
3. Add in 1/3 cup of olive oil, lemon juice of one full lemon, 4 cloves of peeled garlic, and 2/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan.
4. Pulse the processor until the blended desire. Taste and add salt and pepper accordingly. Then pulse again.
5. Add the freshly made pesto sauce to your pot with the drained pasta. Stir until the noodles are fully coated, then pour in the pasta water that was set aside, mix together. Put the pesto pasta on low heat to allow the pesto to warm up and the sauce and allow the parmesan to melt and adhere to the noodles.
6. Meanwhile, slice the cherry tomatoes in half and then set aside.
7. In a dry small saute pan over high heat, add in the cherry tomato halves. Cook them until blistered and charred. A few minutes. Then toss into the pesto pasta and mix together.
8. Serve immediately. Garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese and the toasted pine nuts that were set aside.
Enjoy!!
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