Artichoke Pesto Pasta Salad
Last weekend I attended yet another potluck dinner. Something about the summer just screams "potluck," I guess. For this one, I threw together not one but two pesto pasta salads: a regular one made with semolina pasta and olive oil, to share with the crowd, and a fat-free, healthier version made with whole wheat pasta for myself.
I'm going to be honest with you. I tasted both, and the regular one was better. Part of the blame for that goes to the whole wheat pasta I used in the oil-free version. I've never been a big fan of whole wheat pasta, but the brand I used this time tasted like tough, damp cardboard. The pesto sauce itself wasn't bad. I used canned artichokes to replace the olive oil and omitted the nuts I normally use, and though I think it could have used those nuts blended into the sauce and perhaps some vegan parmesan, other than that, it was pretty tasty. But, for an oil-free pesto that's really outstanding, I have to recommend either the Asparagus Pesto Pasta Salad that I blogged about last month or my creamy Pesto Pasta Salad that's based on silken tofu.
Artichoke Pesto Pasta Salad
1 cup basil, packed
1 can quartered artichoke hearts (packed in water)
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
2 tbsp. vegetable broth
1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
salt, to taste
8 ounces whole wheat pasta, cooked
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
Place the basil and 3 artichoke hearts (12 quarters) in a food processor, and pulse to coarsely chop. Add the garlic, nutritional yeast, vegetable broth, and lemon juice, and process until it becomes a thick paste. Add salt to taste.
In a serving bowl, combine the cooked pasta with the pesto and blend well. Add the remaining artichoke hearts, the tomato, and the pine nuts and toss. Serve at room temperature.
Makes 4 servings.
Per serving (with pinenuts): 366 Calories (kcal); 6 g Total Fat; (13% calories from fat); 19 g Protein; 70 g Carbohydrate; 0 mg Cholesterol; 116 mg Sodium; 19 g Fiber.
Without pinenuts: 318 Calories (kcal); 2 g Total Fat; (4% calories from fat); 17 g Protein; 69 g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 116 mg Sodium; 19 g Fiber.
Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live
I'm going to be honest with you. I tasted both, and the regular one was better. Part of the blame for that goes to the whole wheat pasta I used in the oil-free version. I've never been a big fan of whole wheat pasta, but the brand I used this time tasted like tough, damp cardboard. The pesto sauce itself wasn't bad. I used canned artichokes to replace the olive oil and omitted the nuts I normally use, and though I think it could have used those nuts blended into the sauce and perhaps some vegan parmesan, other than that, it was pretty tasty. But, for an oil-free pesto that's really outstanding, I have to recommend either the Asparagus Pesto Pasta Salad that I blogged about last month or my creamy Pesto Pasta Salad that's based on silken tofu.
Artichoke Pesto Pasta Salad
1 cup basil, packed
1 can quartered artichoke hearts (packed in water)
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
2 tbsp. vegetable broth
1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
salt, to taste
8 ounces whole wheat pasta, cooked
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
Place the basil and 3 artichoke hearts (12 quarters) in a food processor, and pulse to coarsely chop. Add the garlic, nutritional yeast, vegetable broth, and lemon juice, and process until it becomes a thick paste. Add salt to taste.
In a serving bowl, combine the cooked pasta with the pesto and blend well. Add the remaining artichoke hearts, the tomato, and the pine nuts and toss. Serve at room temperature.
Makes 4 servings.
Per serving (with pinenuts): 366 Calories (kcal); 6 g Total Fat; (13% calories from fat); 19 g Protein; 70 g Carbohydrate; 0 mg Cholesterol; 116 mg Sodium; 19 g Fiber.
Without pinenuts: 318 Calories (kcal); 2 g Total Fat; (4% calories from fat); 17 g Protein; 69 g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 116 mg Sodium; 19 g Fiber.
Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live
posted by SusanV at 10:05 AM
15 Comments:
It's a pity it didn't turn out better but at least the regular one was a success. And it looks pretty too :-)
My husband and I can't agree on pasta. I want to eat whole wheat (even though I'm not really fond of the taste and you can't twirl the spaghetti noodles) and he wants to eat the white pasta. We've decided to switch off 50/50. I must admit though, I've started cooking it more like 75/25 with white in the lead.
Well, it looks fabulous! Some brands of whole wheat pasta are just gross.
I made your crab cakes .. yum! I've never had real crab, but these sure taste good.
re: okara bacon burger, I make it very smilar to the way you make the crab cakes, I cook whatever veggies.. usually onion, celery, zukes and carrots.. and add some soy sauce, liquid smoke, nutritional yeast and garlic as the spices.. then bind them with oats and roll them in breadcrumbs before either baking or cooking in my cast iron.
It really does come down to experimenting with different brands, I think. Some whole wheat pastas are very nice. But for those days when you really miss the taste and texture of white noodles, brown rice pasta makes a nice alternative. In the bag it appears very dark, but after it cooks you really could barely tell the difference between it and regular white pasta. It's also gluten free for those folks that can't do wheat.
I meant to tell you, when you posted this, that I have found the Trader Joe's whole wheat pasta to be the best of those that I've tried. The flavor is not overpowering and it even handles a pesto sauce very nicely.
I have fooled my husband several times with Bionaturae whole wheat pasta. I'm sure by the time I'm done cooking it, it has lost all nutritional value, but it is really great whole wheat pasta.
Have you ever tried using lentil bean pasta? The brand I use is Papadini. I think it tastes fabulous. It's wheat/gluten-free plus high in fiber and protein; it does have 1 gm of fat per serving. The only ingredients are lentil flour, salt and baking soda. This is the only pasta I use.
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Thanks for all the pasta suggestions. I'm going to look for some of these brands. Unfortunately, there's no Trader Joes here, but I'll be watching for Papadini and Bionaturae.
And thanks, Melody, for the bakon burger recipe. I'm going to give it a try. Glad you liked the crab cakes!
We made this for a VEGAN supper tonight Served immediately, so room temp? Used whole wheat pasta spirals from the bin at our local discount grocer. Probably closer to 12 oz pasta, and about 2 tbs olive oil were the only alterations. It was OMG fabulous!!!! Even the non vegans loved it. I am contemplating raiding the fridge of the meager leftovers right now... THANKS for this fabulous recipe!
Tinkyada Pasta Joy made of stone-ground brown rice is very healthy, gluten-free, and tasty - just like regular white (wheat) pasta.
Delicious!
I actually like whole wheat pasta, but for those who don't, it's worth looking for soy spaghetti, although it's harder to find.
This sounds really interesting. I've been looking for new ways to use up all the cans of artichoke hearts that I think must be breeding in my pantry, and I love pesto. Thanks!
I love whole wheat pasta! My boyfriend has been resisting it for a really long time, and realized it's better for him and gave it a try. Now he likes it and I'm really happy to be able to use it all the time! He LOVED THIS recipe. It was a delicious dish, but make sure you like basil, it's very potent.
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