We are obsessed with this dish. How can something with so few ingredients be bursting with so much flavor? Well, the answer is easy…Pesto!! We have a little bit of a love affair with pesto. It can honestly be life changing…okay, that could be a stretch but seriously, that’s how strongly we feel about it. Making up a batch of pesto takes only a few minutes and then you can easily transform anything into the most flavorful dish ever. So for this amazing creation, we just boiled up some gluten free pasta that we had in the pantry, sautéed some gorgeous baby heirloom tomatoes in a little olive oil and then tossed it all together with some fresh spinach and feta cheese and voila! There you have it folks, an easy peasy healthy pasta dinner. The great thing about this dish is that the leftovers are amazing too. Hopefully you have some left so you can enjoy this one again tomorrow!
- ½ lb GF brown rice pasta (TJ's - or pasta of choice)
- 1 small container mini organic hierloom tomatoes, halved
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 C loosely packed fresh spinach, stems removed and chopped
- ⅓ C feta cheese, crumbled
- approx ⅓ C pesto - (see homemade recipe below- can also use store-bought)
- approx ½ C reserved pasta water
- S & P to taste
- 2 C packed fresh basil leaves
- ¼ C toasted pine nuts
- 1 cloved garlic, chopped
- ½ C grated parmesan cheese
- ½ C good quality olive oil
- S & P to taste
- In a food processor combine basil, cheese, garlic, pine nuts and ¼ C olive oil. Slowly drizzle in the remaining ¼ C olive oil while the food processor is running. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Store remaining pesto in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Boil large pot of generously salted water. Add pasta, stirring occasionally. While pasta is boiling, heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes and cook for approx 5 minutes until they begin to break down. Remove from heat and set aside. When pasta is done remove approx ½ C of water before draining. Drain pasta and place back into original pot. Add spinach and stir to incorporate, add pesto and water, pouring water slowly as to not add too much. Add tomatoes and feta and fold into pasta. Season with S & P and transfer to a serving bowl. May need to adjust pesto measurements depending on how strong of a pesto flavor you prefer.
[…] Gluten Free Pesto Pasta with Sautéed Baby Hierloom Tomatoes, Fresh Spinach and Feta […]