Pesto Pasta...salad?
One of those days when you get back from work and have no patience to cook an elaborate meal. All you wanna do is just mix up whatever you got and still create a palatable dish! So, I saw the pre-cooked whole wheat rotini in the refrigerator and said "yes, I am making a quick pasta salad for dinner!". Of course, my favorite Kirkland Pesto (Costco brand) came to my rescue.
Note: if you use the Kirkland Pesto, make sure to freeze it once opened although the label says you can keep it in the refrigerator till the date on the bottle!
So, all I really did was, bring the pasta to room temperature. In the mean time I preheated the oven at 375 degF. I arranged some fresh broccoli florets and sliced fresh tomatoes on a baking tray, sprinkled some EVOO and baked it till they were slightly char-grilled (the tomatoes will get done faster so have the oven light ON and keep an eye!). In a salad bowl, add the pasta, vegetables, pesto (for 1/2 a box of pasta I would add 4-5 tbsp of pesto), crushed pepper, red chili flakes, some roasted slivered almonds and some raisins. If it's too dry, drizzle some EVOO over and toss well and there you go!!! If you realize you can add more to the salad, tofu would go very well. For that, heat 2 tbsp of oil and roast some thinly sliced strips of tofu, let it brown, flip the strips over and roast them even. Take it out on a paper towel and toss them into the pasta.
That was not too difficult to make, was it?? Of course, you got your Vit C/Fiber/Potassium/Iron from broccoli, your Protein from the tofu and finally, whole wheat pasta is always a healthier alternative!!
Note: if you use the Kirkland Pesto, make sure to freeze it once opened although the label says you can keep it in the refrigerator till the date on the bottle!
So, all I really did was, bring the pasta to room temperature. In the mean time I preheated the oven at 375 degF. I arranged some fresh broccoli florets and sliced fresh tomatoes on a baking tray, sprinkled some EVOO and baked it till they were slightly char-grilled (the tomatoes will get done faster so have the oven light ON and keep an eye!). In a salad bowl, add the pasta, vegetables, pesto (for 1/2 a box of pasta I would add 4-5 tbsp of pesto), crushed pepper, red chili flakes, some roasted slivered almonds and some raisins. If it's too dry, drizzle some EVOO over and toss well and there you go!!! If you realize you can add more to the salad, tofu would go very well. For that, heat 2 tbsp of oil and roast some thinly sliced strips of tofu, let it brown, flip the strips over and roast them even. Take it out on a paper towel and toss them into the pasta.
That was not too difficult to make, was it?? Of course, you got your Vit C/Fiber/Potassium/Iron from broccoli, your Protein from the tofu and finally, whole wheat pasta is always a healthier alternative!!
I love this recipe! Usually don't modify Anu's recipe :) but my hubby likes things cooked :D so i cooked the tomatoes, broccoli in some olive oil and added the pesto & also some red onions! Thanks Anuja!!!!
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