I saw a recipe recently in The New York Times that used angel hair pasta, cherry tomatoes, basil, and parsley in a pasta dish. How convenient for me since my deck garden has produced a wealth of cherry tomatoes, basil, parsley, and chard along with beautiful flowers. The recipe was nearly vegan—it would be easy to swap out the butter for vegan butter —but the recipe called for so much oil and no protein aside from the pasta. I decided to “healthify” the original and make it more satisfying for hearty appetites.
First, I swapped the angel hair pasta for whole wheat spaghetti. Next, I created a basil/walnut/bean pesto instead of using oil and butter. I saved about 300 calories using healthy fat from the walnuts and adding additional protein and complex carbs from the cannellini beans. This pesto is great on pasta, potatoes, rice, and can also be used as a dip for veggies or chips. For the finish, I found a great recipe for vegan parmesan that I will keep on hand in the fridge from now on. Once you have the pasta, the pesto and the parmesan ready, you just need to sauté a few veggies. Along with the cherry tomatoes I used onions and chopped rainbow chard. Mix it all together for a delicious summer produce pasta dinner.
Vegan summer pasta dinner
For the pasta:
10-12 oz whole wheat spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
Basil/walnut/bean pesto:
½ cup walnuts
1 can cannellini beans, plus liquid
2 cups of lightly packed basil leaves
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp salt (or salt substitute)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp ground cumin
Veggies:
2-3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
¾ cup chopped red onion
2 cups chopped rainbow chard
¼ cup chopped parsley
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
¼ tsp ground black pepper and ½ tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
Vegan parmesan (from a recipe by The Minimalist Baker):
¾ cup raw cashews
3 T nutritional yeast
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp garlic powder
Directions
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. While the pasta cooks, put all the ingredients for the pesto in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
3. Add the vegan parm ingredients to a food processor and pulse until a fine meal is achieved. Do not over blend or you will get paste. Set aside.
4. In a wok or high-sided frying pan, add a little water or vegetable broth. Simmer the onions for a few minutes, then add cherry tomatoes, garlic, and chard. Stir fry for a few more minutes, then incorporate the parsley, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
5. Pour the cooked and drained pasta into the wok with the vegetables and stir in as much pesto as you want. I used about 2/3 of the batch.
6. Allow everything to cook for a few more minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle generously with vegan parm and serve.
Enjoy your summer produce, whether you harvest from your garden, deck, or farmers market.
Joyce Marner has been vegan for 12 years. She is a board member for the Vegan Community of Eastern Iowa. Send questions or comments to veganeasterniowa@gmail.com. Visit the VCEI website at https://www.veganeasterniowa.org/ or join the group on Facebook or Meet Up.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Vegan summer pasta dinner | Column
Reporting by Joyce Marner / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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