Vegetarian Mains
Beans & Greens Pesto Pasta
This is a go-to meal that I often rely on for a quick dinner on a busy night.
It’s a very flexible recipe – use any greens or any beans that you have on hand.
Ingredients
| Long noodles e.g. spaghetti, linguini | |
| Olive oil | |
| 1 | onion |
| 1 bunch | leafy greens (e.g. kale, Swiss chard, spinach) |
| 1 can | cannellini beans (or other beans) |
| Optional veggies: e.g. mushrooms, bell peppers | |
| 2 TBSP | pesto |
| Parmesan cheese (for sprinkling on top) |
Preparation
- Get the water in a pot and over high heat in preparation for boiling the noodles. When water comes to a boil, add the noodles. Cook until al-dente.
- In the meantime, finely chop the onion.
- In a large frypan on medium-low heat, add the oil and the onion. Cook slowly until the onions are soft – more than 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, wash and coarsely chop the greens. Discard any heavy, thick stalks. Chop any optional veggies. Drain and rinse the beans.
- Add the optional veggies to the frypan and sauté until almost tender. Add the leafy greens and pesto. Cook, stirring often, just until the greens wilt. Do not over-cook the greens. If the greens are a dull, olive-green they are overcooked and will be bitter.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pan. Thoroughly cover the noodles with sauce.
- Serve, topping with parmesan cheese.
Added on December 17, 2011 at 2:47 pm
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