PENNE WITH PESTO SAUCE
What family doesn’t like pasta for dinner? It’s easy to make and tastes great. A favorite topping for our family and many other has always been pesto.
This recipe I got from a book called, “Everyday Vegan Eats,” written by Zsu Dever. In the 240 pages, she features dozens of dishes from breakfast and lunch to dinner and dessert.
My 15-year-old son put together this dinner. It took him about an hour to make and to say everyone loved it, would be an understatement. He tripled the recipe so everyone had it for lunch the next day. I would have had it for dinner again if we had more leftovers.
It tastes great, but this pasta dish is also good for you. The almonds help fight off heart disease and diabetes and the garlic lowers triglycerides and total cholesterol.
For all of those hard to please families out there, this is an easy one. One bite and you’ll be hooked. Enjoy the pesto sauce and of course, that vegan thing.
(From Everyday Vegan Eats 2014 by Zsu Dever. Used with permission from
Vegan Heritage Press, LLC)
Ingredients
1 pound penne or other pasta
2 cups tightly packed fresh basil
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped almonds toasted
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, make the pesto. In a food processor or blender, like a Ninja or Vitamix, combine the basil, oil, nuts, garlic and salt and pepper. Process until finely smooth. Toss the pesto sauce with the hot cooked pasta. Then add the reserved cooking water to thin out the sauce and serve.