Pasta with Rocket Pesto and Tomatoes
Rocking Rocket Pesto Pasta
Servings:3 people
Calories:562kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2.5 cup wholegrain pasta (penne preferably) (2.5 cups = 250g)
- ⅓ cup pine nuts (⅓ cups = 50g)
- ⅓ cup walnuts (⅓ cups = 50g)
- 2 handful rocket (ca. 100g)
- 3 onion
- 1-2 clove garlic
- ½ bell pepper, yellow
- 2 handful basil, fresh
- 5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Optional
- 1 red pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to instructions on the package.
- If you’re using dry sundried tomatoes, take some water from the pan and let the tomatoes soak in a bowl of hot water.
- Without using any oil, heat up the wok on medium heat. Add the pine nuts and stir them around until they are slightly browned and smell good. Be careful not to let them burn. Set aside.
- Now on low heat, add 1 generous tbsp of olive oil to the wok.
- Chop and sauté (fry slowly) 1 onion.
For the pesto:
- When the onion’s done, put it in a blender or mixer bowl (oil and all). Also add half of the rocket, almost all of the basil (destemmed if needed), ¾ of the roasted pine nuts, walnuts, salt, pepper, and 1 extra generous tbsp of olive oil.
- This will be your rocket pesto. Let it rest for a second.
For the rest:
- Heat up the last tbsp of olive oil in the wok.
- Chop and sauté the other 2 onions.
- Deseed and chop the red pepper, if you’re using that. Add to the pan and stir.
- Deseed and chop the yellow bell pepper. Add to the pan and stir. Make sure the pan’s on low heat.
- Now, blend all the ingredients for the rocket pesto until it has a nice texture. It doesn’t have to be super smooth, but it shouldn’t be too crunchy either. If the latter’s the case, you can add another tbsp of olive oil, but better yet: add some water from the pasta you've got cooking (1 tbsp at a time). The starch from the pasta makes for a nice binder. (Using ‘normal’ water can give off a bland taste to your pesto, too.)
- Peel and crush/chop/slice the garlic. Add to the pan and stir for on low heat for about 1 minute.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the wok, together with the pesto.
- Slice the sundried tomatoes into tiny pieces and add them, too.
- Serve with some left-over rocket and sprinkle the other pine nuts and some basil leaves on top. Voila!
NOTES
Vegetarian option: fake bacon bits (which are usually vegetarian, not vegan) work really well with this dish. If you do this, however, leave out the sundried tomatoes for it can become too salty.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Rocking Rocket Pesto Pasta
Amount per Serving
Calories
562
% Daily Value*
Fat
35
g
54
%
Saturated Fat
4
g
25
%
Sodium
416
mg
18
%
Potassium
668
mg
19
%
Carbohydrates
57
g
19
%
Fiber
5
g
21
%
Sugar
8
g
9
%
Protein
14
g
28
%
Vitamin A
1733
IU
35
%
Vitamin C
103
mg
125
%
Calcium
79
mg
8
%
Iron
4
mg
22
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Walnuts ? Couldn’t find in method.
Enjoyed anyway thx
Well spotted, thanks! Have updated. Glad you enjoyed, thank you for writing! 🙂
Delicious!
Thank you Wendelalala!! 🙂