Hazelnut Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Asparagus

 

Originally this post was suppose to feature delicious homemade gnocchi, however after carefully reading a recipe and crafting beautiful little pockets of goodness I put them in simmering water to cook. And it was disaster. I ended up with a huge pot of potato water. So now this post is about the pesto I made to go with the gnocchi.

Hazelnut Pesto

1/4 cup roasted hazelnuts without skin
1 - 2 cups of fresh basil leaves
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender. You may need to add more olive oil or some water to help with blending.


To serve I roasted some cherry tomatoes in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes and saute some asparagus and peas with a little lemon juice.

Once my pasta was cooked I tossed it with the pesto mixture and served with the tomatoes, peas and asparagus.

This dish would be amazing with homemade gnocchi!

Pasta Puttanesca and Scallops

For this month's Secret Recipe Club I was given the blog Lisa's Cooking Adventures. I read in one of her posts that the her blog is more about her cooking failures than successes but after looking through tons of yummy recipes I don't think that can actually be true!

Lisa cooks a lot of different things but this recipe for Puttanesca sauce really jumped out at me. Although P and I are mostly vegan we have added fish and seafood back into our diet so I thought I would give this sauce a try. I absolutely LOVED it but P (Who hates olives) wasn't fooled and about half way through the dish asked "does this have olives in it?".

The original recipe called for black olives but I used green as that is what I had. I also cooked up some scallops to go with the dish and they were delightful. Thanks Lisa for the wonderful recipe!

Pasta Puttanesca and Scallops
From Lisa's Cooking Adventure

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tin anchovy fillets, rolled with capers
1 /2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 can of sliced black olives (I used green)
1 (32-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
A few grinds black pepper
1/4 cup (a couple of handfuls) flat leaf parsley, chopped
6 medium scallops
Pasta 

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add oil, garlic, anchovies, and crushed pepper. Sauté mixture until anchovies melt into oil and completely dissolve and garlic is tender, about 3 minutes: Add capers, tomatoes, black pepper, and parsley. Bring sauce to a bubble, reduce heat, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes.

In a small skillet heat some olive oil over medium high heat. Add scallops to pan and let cook for 1 minute. Turn over and cook on other side for 1 - 2 minutes. Scallops should have a lovely caramelization on the outside.

Toss sauce with cooked pasta and topped with scallops. Enjoy.

Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

I was walking through the pasta sauce section at the grocery store and a jar of butternut squash sauce caught my eye. I knew I had some squash at home so I thought I would try my own version. Super simple and delicious and I love the colour.

Vegan Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

1 large butternut squash
1 Tbsp of olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, finely diced
2 orange bell peppers, diced
1 small can of tomato paste
1 1/2 cups of soy milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Firstly roast the butternut squash buy cutting it into quarters lengthwise. Take out the seeds and place the quarters on a baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until tender.

In a pan heat the olive oil and cook the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for another 4 - 5 minutes until the peppers are tender.

In a blender add all of the ingredients including the butternut squash flesh. Blend until smooth. Return to the pan to heat and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with pasta and roasted tomatoes.