Last Sunday, I decided to prepare pesto pasta. I racked my brains for dinner ideas and came up with pesto pasta with a twist. Simple to prepare, this dish needs quality Shitake mushrooms and fresh spinach leaves. In my case, I happened to have some rocket leaves in my fridge so those became part of the ingredients.
I’ve made this dish previously but have omitted some ingredients. In this dish, I have also made sure that the pasta is moist and creamy. Using a cup of pasta water prior to draining the spaghetti is a brilliant idea. It not only adds some moistness to the pasta, but also enhances its flavour.
Ingredients
1 big onion, sliced
1/2 cup Shitake mushrooms
1/2 cup fresh button mushrooms
a bunch of asparagus, sliced at an angle
1 cup frozen green peas
handful of fresh spinach/rockets
1 small bottle of pesto
1 avocado
handful of lightly fried pinenuts
3/4 packet of spaghetti
1 cup of spaghetti water
pinch of salt
pepper
Method
- Add some salt to water in a pot and set to boil. Once bubbles have formed, add spaghetti in and boil till al-dente. Pour some spaghetti water into a cup for use later.
- Add onions and fry till caramelised. Then add asparagus and mushrooms. Let the latter sweat.
- Add green peas and mix till cooked. Then, add pine nuts.
- Add pepper to taste and blend well.
- Then empty pesto from the bottle into the mixture and then add spaghetti water into the mixture. Mix thoroughly.
- Add in the spinach/rocket leaves and then the spaghetti. Mix well.
- Add more pepper if needed.
- Scoop avocado from its shell and mix them into the pasta.
- Serve and enjoy.
The pesto pasta is creamy and delicious. If you are planning a healthy and satisfying meal, this is the one to consider.
The green peas and onions add a tinge of sweetness to the pasta. This is truly a scrumptious creation.