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Monday, August 8, 2011

Pesto Pasta!

Shortly after Hardy was born I wondered if I would ever have time to cook again. I thought to myself "how do other moms do it?" Well, 9 weeks later and I am back in the kitchen! I'm not sure if it is because I found the time to cook or because my wallet could not handle the cost of eating out anymore!! It is amazing how costly it is to eat out and how much you can save by eating at home...not to mention the calories too! To celebrate my first night back at the stove, I decided to make something a little special. I had come across this recipe in Cooking Light a while back and added it to my recipe file. I already had most of the ingredients on hand and I was really craving some pasta so this recipe looked perfect. I did not realize until I got home from the store and began to cook that it required a food processor. Oops! My small chopper worked just fine though. I also happened to have some fresh basil in the backyard. Funny story about the basil. One day I looked out the window and saw what I thought was a weed growing in my potted hibiscus. When I went to water my plants the next day, I realized that it was actually basil growing. Last year I had planted basil in my herb pot that was next to the hibiscus and it had seeded itself. With Hardy being born this summer, I did not have time to plant my herbs so I am thankful this little basil plant did the work itself! Anyways, back to the recipe. This rotini was DELICIOUS! At first glance it looks a little complicated, but it was actually fairly easy to make. It was a big win for us and will definitely become a regular at the Cole house!

Tomato and Walnut Pesto Rotini

Ingredients

  • 3 cups loosely packed basil leaves
  • 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 5 ounces uncooked rotini (corkscrew-shaped pasta)
  • 5 ounces uncooked multigrain rotini (corkscrew-shaped pasta)
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

Preparation

  • 1. Combine first 6 ingredients, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Gradually add oil through food chute with food processor on; process until smooth.
  • 2. Cook pastas according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 3/4 cup cooking liquid. Combine pastas, pesto mixture, tomatoes, reserved cooking liquid, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl; toss well.

1 comment:

  1. I made that a few weeks ago from that magazine! I was walking through Kroger with no idea what to cook, so I picked up that magazine and found that recipe. We loved it! And it was so easy!

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