Pesto-Perfect Pasta

When it comes to summertime, the one think I dread doing is turning on the stove.  So when I cook with heat, I try to make sure it is something that makes a gargantuan batch that can last for days!  My favorite big-batch meal is this pasta salad.  It tastes just as good hot as it does cold.

Ingredients

Box of penne pasta

Eggplant (optional but delicious)

1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

3 Roma tomatoes, chopped, or 1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

 

For pesto:

1 bunch of basil (about 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted in skillet

1 tsp nutritional yeast

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, plus 2-3 tbs of the oil

3 cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

The first thing I do in this recipe is cook the eggplant.  My favorite method is using a nonstick George Foreman grill.  You know you have one tucked away in a cupboard somewhere, or if you know anyone of the male persuasion, they may let you borrow theirs!  I cut the eggplant into four chunky slices lengthwise and put it on the grill (without oil) for 15 minutes to cook.  Then once slightly browned and cooked-looking, I take it off the grill and wrap it in tinfoil to stay warm.  This allows for some carryover cooking, so that your eggplant will be deliciously cooked without having to use any oil.  Right before combining the pasta, I unwrap it and chop it into cubes.  Don't have a grill?  It can be cooked on a nonstick stovetop grill, or baked in the oven but you will need to brush on olive oil in these cases to prevent sticking. 

While the eggplant is cooking, I start a big pot of water heating up for the pasta. 

Next I heat up a small skillet, dry, and toast the walnuts for 3-5 minutes.  Watch them closely, they will burn easily.  Once nice and fragrant, remove from the skillet and set aside.  Then I chop up the mushroom and bell pepper and sauté them with a little olive oil in the same skillet until softened, adding salt and pepper while cooking (10-15 minutes). 

Then comes the delicious pesto.

In a food processer, combine the basil, toasted walnuts, garlic, sundried tomato, nutritional yeast, salt & pepper and oil from the sundried tomato jar.  Let that sucker run until all ingredients have been combined into a pesto-y paste.

By now, your water should be boiling.  Add salt to taste and cook your pasta per directions.

To finish, put all of the ingredients into a big mixing bowl - garbanzos, chopped tomatoes, pesto, cooked mushrooms and bell peppers, and chopped cooked eggplant.  Once your pasta is ready, drain and toss it in with the rest of the ingredients.  Now stir, and you will have a delicious pasta dish that you can eat then (you know you want to), or chill in the fridge for lunch and dinner for the next few days.