Spinach Pesto Over Whole Wheat Pasta ~ Click here for Gorgeous Photos
We have adopted a healthy lifestyle for our diet, but virtually everyone I know LOVES pasta. So I recently decided that I would make Sunday evening our Pasta Night. But I don’t want to have the “white flour” version.
This dish was inspired by a recipe I saw by a well known T.V. Chef. There was way too much cheese, and “white” pasta used, so I decided to amend it. What I created was easy, quick, nutritious and beautiful to look at.
It still had the wonderful “mouth-feel” of a full fat version, but way less cheese. I did not add cheese to the sauce. I simply grated about 1 tablespoon over the top before serving. Pine Nuts were also used sparingly.
MY HUSBAND LOVED LOVED this dish.
Spinach Pesto over Pasta
An absolutely scrumptious
One Dish delight
Serves 2 generously ~ or 4 as a side dish
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INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 Package of Whole Wheat Spaghetti or Angel Hair Pasta (Cooked) *
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SAUCE:
- 8 cups baby spinach (I filled my Vita-Mix blender to the top)
- 6 cloves garlic (you can use less if you’re not a fan of garlic)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 avocado
..
Prepare the sauce by adding the above ingredients into a blender and whirling them together until blended into a smooth sauce. I used a Vita-Mix blender (filled it to the top with the baby spinach) and blended until the sauce was steaming hot in the blender.If you don’t have a Vita-Mix or Blend-Tec, make the sauce and heat it gently in the microwave or saucepan.When the sauce is finished warming, pour it over the cooked pasta and top with the Ingredients below. Note: Mix in the tofu (or your protein choice) before topping with the other ingredients.
TOPPING
6 oz. Tofu (extra firm) chopped in about 1/4″ cubes. If you don’t like tofu, use chicken or fish.
* 2 teaspoons pine nuts (you can substitute walnuts* or cashews)
1 PLUM Tomato (chopped)
2 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese (or hard cheese of our choice)
Salt/Pepper to taste
TIPS for success.
* Cook the pasta in water seasoned with 2 Tbspns salt and 1 tspn oil. The amount of pasta to use is 1/2 of the package. That is, 1/2 package of uncooked pasta.
* If substituting walnuts, soak them for 1-2 hours. You can use more nuts, but they are high in calories so use sparingly.
* I heard Ina Garten mention that if garlic bothers you, remove the little green piece you see when you’ve cut it in half.
* You can substitute Kale for spinach.
I had about 1/2 cup left over. I intend to use it to spread on some whole wheat garlic bread. YUM.
