Tomato Pesto Pasta

This recipe is from Sister's Cafe as well! It's delicious! Spencer was a little skeptically because it was so green, but he loved it!

Tomato Pesto Pasta

1/4 cup basil Pesto( recipe link on side)

1/4 lb penne pasta ( I used whole wheat and it was delicious)

1.5-2 cups tomatoes

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Basil leaves

Shredded parmesan cheese



Prepare Basil Pesto. Store in refrigerator or freeze until ready to serve. Cook pasta according to package directions. Just before draining the pasta into a colander, remove 1/4 cup of pasta water; set aside. Drain the pasta, put back in the pot, and then stir in the Basil Pesto and the reserved pasta water, a little at a time, to create a sauce. Add diced tomatoes and toss to coat thoroughly. Salt and pepper to taste. Transfer onto individual serving plates and garnish with sliced fresh basil leaves and shavings of Parmesan cheese.Makes 2 servings.

Pesto

I have also been craving Pesto! I didn't have a ton of basil and it can be expensive. So I did a little research and decided to use part parsley! The recipe I used came from The Sister's Cafe! Their blog address is http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/

Pesto
¼ c. walnuts
¼ c. pignolis (pine nuts)
3 T. minced garlic (9 cloves)
5 c. fresh basil leaves, packed (I just added half parsley)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ c. good olive oil (I prefer using 1 1/4 c.)
1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese

Place the walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil leaves, parsley, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely pureed. Add the parmesan and puree for a minute. Serve, or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top. Makes 4 cups.