Summer Pesto Penne

Light meals during the summer months are, in my opinion, totally necessary. This recipe was a great find in Good Housekeeping Magazine, thanks to dear old (ole?) mom. I played with this recipe a bit because boiling my vegetables in pasta water didn't seem fit (or flavorful for that matter). I also used gluten-free pasta (for more lightness) and added tomatoes to make the meal more appealing to the eye and flavorful to the palette. This dish was, as my mom called it, a "keeper"!

Ingredients:

1 box Mueller's gluten-free penne pasta
Pinch of salt, for pasta water
2 cups frozen peas

1 bunch of asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup grape tomatoes
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup parsley leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/3 cup walnuts
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water

1/3 cup ricotta cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cooking Instructions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place cut asparagus and tomatoes on a sheet pan. Coat vegetables with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Fill a large pot with 3-4 cups of water, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Add pasta to the water and cook until al dente.

Now for pesto! In a food processor, add the following ingredients: parsley, mint, walnuts, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Blend until almost a paste then slowly add olive oil and water until smooth. Set aside. Your vegetables should be done at this point, set them aside.

Add the frozen peas to the pasta water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain water from pasta and peas. Place pasta and peas back into the stock pot. Add your pesto and a spoonful of ricotta to coat the pasta. Add the asparagus and tomatoes to the mix and stir. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Plate your individual servings and put a 4-5 small dollops of ricotta cheese over each dish. See image above for depiction of "a dollop".

Serves 4 people.

Al Dente per Wikipedia
In cooking, al dente describes pasta and (less commonly) vegetables, rice or beans that is cooked to be firm to the bite, or slightly under cooked. 

Now you know. ;)