Tomato Asparagus Pasta

I made the bruschetta recipe below, but it was just my husband and myself eating, so I ended up with about half of the tomatoes. That's how this recipe came about.

Making both the bruschetta and this pasta recipe for the same night would be perfect for two! And there's no need to double any part of it.

Tomatoes-

10 oz. of cherry tomatoes
1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
3 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
1/4 t. fresh rosemary, finely minced
1/8 t. crushed red pepper
1/2 t. sea salt
The night before (although it doesn't need to be) mix together the olive oil, garlic, basil leaves, rosemary, crushed red pepper and sea salt in a bowl large enough to hold the oil mixture and all of the tomatoes. Slice each cherry tomato in half the length of the fruit and add them to the olive oil marinade. Cover and set aside.

Pesto -

1/8 C pine nuts

1/8 C chopped walnuts

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 C packed basil leaves

1/4 C extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor or blender, add nuts, chopped garlic, basil leaves (ripping them into smaller pieces) and sea salt. Pulse. Add the olive oil while the processor is running to make a smooth paste. 

Asparagus -
1 bunch fresh asparagus
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and trim the asparagus. Lay the spears out onto a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Toss coating the asparagus completely. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes.

Angel Hair Pasta -

1/2 pound whole wheat angel hair pasta

Salt and pepper
Pine nuts for garnish

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Near the end of the cook time, add two tablespoons of pasta water to the pesto sauce and stir to combine. Drain the pasta and add it to the pesto sauce. Stir in the asparagus and tomatoes. Salt and pepper the dish to taste. Serve using pine nuts as a garnish.

Lemon Pesto Linguine with Asparagus

This is my latest creation. Serve this with a glass of red wine and a salad of undressed assorted greens, and all I can say is, mmmm, mmmm good.

Lemon Pesto Linguine with Asparagus

Lemon Olive Oil -

1/4 C extra virgin olive oil

Zest of one lemon

1/8 C fresh lemon juice

Combine the ingredients and set aside.

Pesto -

1/3 C pine nuts

1/3 C pistachio nuts

1 large garlic clove, chopped

1/4 C packed basil leaves

Pinch of crushed red pepper

4 T olive oil

In a food processor or blender, add nuts, chopped garlic, pinch of crushed red pepper, basil leaves (ripping them into smaller pieces) and olive oil. Pulse to make a smooth paste. Combine the lemon oil and pesto in a saucepan and warm slightly on very low heat.

 

Asparagus -

1 C cut up asparagus

Cut asparagus spears into 1 inch sections and place in a steamer basket over boiling water. Steam the asparagus for no longer than 3 minutes. Remove and add to the lemon pesto sauce.

Linguine -

1/2 pound whole wheat linguine

Salt and pepper

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Near the end of the cook time, add two tablespoons of pasta water to the lemon pesto sauce and stir to combine. Drain the linguine and add it to the lemon pesto sauce. Salt and pepper the dish to taste. Serve.

Braised Endive Salad

I found a recipe for braised endive that looked interesting. I played with the ingredients, added a dressing and came up with a warm salad that satisfied my family. This recipe will serve 2 - 3. It's easy and a great start to any dinner.

Braised Endive Salad

1 T olive oil
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 large endive
fresh lemon
sea salt

Slice the endive in half. Add the olive oil to a saute pan and warm on low heat. Place the thyme in the pan and arrange the endive on top. Season with salt and cover to cook over medium low heat. Cook for 20 - 30 minutes, until the endive is tender and slightly browned. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the pan and serve with the sun-dried tomato dressing that follows. 

Sun-Dried Tomato Salad Dressing

5 sun-dried tomatoes, rough chop
1 T pine nuts
1/4 C olive oil
1 garlic clove, rough chop
1 sprig of thyme, leaves only
1/8 t sea salt
pepper to taste

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and  process until well blended. Refrigerate.

Sun-Dried Tomato Salad Dressing

This has become my favorite salad dressing. It's fast, easy and the ingredients are always on hand. I LOVE my other sun-dried tomato dressing, but this is so simple, you gotta love it too! And as you'll see in an upcoming post, it inspired a new salad.


Sun-Dried Tomato Salad Dressing

5 sun-dried tomatoes, rough chop
1 T pine nuts
1/4 C olive oil
1 garlic clove, rough chop
1 sprig of thyme, leaves only
1/8 t sea salt
pepper to taste

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and  process until well blended. Refrigerate.

Pasta, Pesto, and Peas

This recipe is from Ina Garten and I "veganized" it. The changes are few, but I warn you, taste as you go! I played a little with the amount of oil on both the pasta and in the pesto. 

And if you have a vegan pesto that you're crazy about, please post it. I would love to try it! It's so nice to taste something this fresh in the dead of winter, and what's better than a good pesto!

Prep: 20 min

Cook: 12 min

Total: 32 min

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 3/4 pound whole wheat fusilli pasta
• 3/4 pound whole wheat bow tie pasta
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups pesto
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup Vegenaise
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is al dente. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the vegannaise and puree. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the peas, pignoli, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.

Pesto:

nocoupons

• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
• 5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups good olive oil

Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

Notes: Air is the enemy of pesto. For freezing, pack it in containers with a film of oil or plastic wrap directly on top with the air pressed out.

Once again, the pic isn't mine. My camera just couldn't get a good picture.

Broccolini and Brown Rice

I was browsing one of my favorite blogs and found a great article on broccoli. We really like broccoli in this house and I cook it in a variety of ways... or at least I used to. Now I only steam it, and I'm using that technique with my broccolini too.

Although broccolini is often misidentified as young broccoli, it's not. It is a cross between broccoli and kai-lan, a Chinese broccoli. Nutritionally, it's high in vitamin C but also contains vitamin A, calcium, folate and iron. We love it's flavor and it's delicious in this recipe!

Be sure to visit this blog:  http://thevegandiet.blogspot.com/
She always has interesting and informative articles. Look for the post "Broccoli a Super Veg" and you'll find yourself steaming your broccoli too!

Broccolini and Brown Rice

Easy
Serves 4

1 C. brown rice

1 T. Earth’s Balance

2 T. pine nuts

8oz. of broccolini, cut into 1 – 1 ½ inch pieces

1/4 C. Olive oil

5 cloves of garlic

½   C. onion, chopped

Zest of ½ a lemon

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Cook the brown rice according to the directions on the package, but add the tablespoon of Earth’s Balance to the water and rice. This helps give the final product a creamy texture.

In a sauté pan, toast the pine nuts until lightly brown. Careful... this takes only a minute or two. Remove and set aside. 

In the same sauté pan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Lightly smash the garlic cloves. When the oil is heated, add the garlic and cook while stirring for up to 5 minutes. Remove the garlic and discard. Next, add the onion to the oil. Sauté the onion until it’s soft and translucent.  

Using a saucepan fitted with a steamer basket, add about 1 inch of water and bring it to a boil. Add the broccolini and cover.  Cook the broccolini until just tender, approximately 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the broccolini and the onion oil mixture to the rice. Season the rice with salt, pepper and lemon zest. Toss to combine. Serve immediately. Serves 4

Sauteed Spinach with Toasted Pine Nuts

This is a no-brainer. We've all done it one way or another... we've just never written it down. Serve this with couscous and you've got an easy, quick and delicious dinner in minutes!


Sauteed Spinach with Toasted Pine Nuts

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 10-ounce bag fresh spinach with stems removed
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons pine nuts

Begin by toasting the pine nuts. Use a small dry non-stick skillet and turn the heat to medium. Add the pine nuts and shake every 30 seconds to brown evenly. When they are lightly browned remove them to a plate until the spinach is ready.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute until the garlic becomes fragrant (don't let it get brown). Add the spinach and toss with tongs until wilted. This will only take a couple of minutes. Add salt and pepper. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and serve.

Note: If you're serving this with couscous, boil the water for the couscous just before you start toasting the pine nuts.