Did you know you can make pesto out of more than basil? Pesto can be made with basil, arugula, kale, spinach, peas…as long as its bright green it should work (I mean, within reason, no cucumber pesto or zucchini pesto). My problem with basil is that it’s hard to enough on hand to make pesto whenever you want it. Frozen peas on the other hand are easy to find, super affordable, and able to keep for extended period of time.
I prepped most of this earlier in the day so that I could throw it together before dinner time but you could easily make it all at once. Start by dicing all the vegetables: 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, 1/2 an eggplant, and 1 onion. Place these in a bowl and add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp olive oil. Stir well to combine. Transfer the veggies to a prepared baking pan. Preheat your oven to 350 and cook for 30 minutes.
While waiting for the veggies to cook, you can prepare the pesto and pasta. Cook 4 cups of peas until defrosted. Once cooked, drain and transfer to a large food processor. Add 2 tsp garlic, 3 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/3 cup olive oil, juice from 1 lemon and 3/4 tsp salt.
In previous posts I’ve mention that I try not to add additional salt to meals. I stand by that generally, but felt that salt was definitely necessary for the flavor in this. However, feel free to adjust to salt to your preferences. Pulse the ingredients until smooth. Set aside until veggies and pasta are done.
Using a large soup pot, cook 1 lb (a full box) of pasta as directed on the box. I used Rigatoni and cooked it just past al dente, about 15 minutes. Once the veggies are done in the oven, the pasta is cooked and drained, and pesto is made, combine all in the large pot and stir to combine. It was a decent arm work out, haha. Once it’s all mixed together, you are ready to eat! Makes a large amount, seeing as you are using a full box of pasta, so plan for a few leftovers or lunches.
Pesto Pasta with Oven Roasted Veggies
Ingredients:
- 1 zucchini
- 1 yellow squash
- 1/2 an eggplant
- 1 onion
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups peas
- 2 tsp garlic
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 lb rigatoni (1 box)
Instructions:
- Dice all vegetables and place them in a large bowl. Combine veggies with 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp olive oil. Place this in a large baking pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
- While the veggies are cooking, proceed with cooking 4 cups of peas until defrosted. Drain the peas and place them in a large food processor with 2 tsp garlic, 3 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/3 cup olive oil, juice from 1 lemon, and 3/4 tsp salt. Combine these until smooth. Set this aside until veggies and pasta are done.
- In a large soup pot, cook 1 lb of pasta as directed on the box, generally just past al dente, about 15 minutes. Drain and return to pot once finished.
- Once pasta, veggies and pesto are done, add all ingredients to the large soup pot. Stir until fully combined. Serve!
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