Whole Wheat Penne with Broccoli and Sundried Tomato Pesto |
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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 0 Minutes |
Ready In: 0 Minutes Servings: 1 |
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Not low cal, but healthy and delicious Ingredients:
16 oz dry penne pasta whole wheat |
5 cups broccoli, cut into florets |
20 pieces sun-dried tomatoes |
2 tbsp olive oil |
7 cloves garlic, minced |
2 tsp basil, dried |
2 tsp parsley, dried |
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped |
Directions:
1. Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil for the pasta. The pasta is going to take around 10 minutes or so, depending on what size it is, so time the rest of your stuff accordingly.
2. To make the pesto, steam the sun-dried tomatoes in a vegetable steamer until they are soft, about 7 minutes. Remove and let cool to room temperature.
3. While you?re making the pesto, get the pasta in the boiling water and cook until al dente, read the pasta package to find out their recommended timing.
4. In a food processor, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil and garlic and process until smooth. Add the basil and parsley and pulse a few times to finely chop. Scrape the pesto into a bowl, then stir in the walnuts, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper by hand. Note: if you don't have an adequate mini-food processor, just chop the sundrieds up as small and mushy as you can, same with the garlic and herbs and mash it up really well.
5. When the water comes to a boil, drop in the broccoli. Cook 2-3 minutes, or until crisp yet tender. Test it before you take it out to make sure it?s not too underdone, but it wants to be bright green and a little crunchy as its point of perfection. If you are not going to immediately put the broccoli into the pasta for the final mixing, scoop out with a strainer and immerse it in a bowl of cold water to stop any further cooking.
6. Before you drain the pasta, remove 1 tablespoon of the pasta water and stir it into the pesto. Drain the pasta in a colander. Shake the colander vigorously to remove all the water. Mix the pasta together with the broccoli.
7. Scrape the pesto onto the pasta and broccoli. Toss thoroughly to evenly coat it.
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