Pesto Cavatappi

My family and I frequent the restaurant Noodles & Co., and I always get their pesto cavatappi dish. The pasta is always cooked just right and the pesto so flavorful, I always leave feeling satisfied, and usually wanting more (since a good portion of my noodles always goes to my 2-year-old!). The dish is pretty simple - noodles covered in pesto with some mushroom and tomato chunks thrown in - so I decided to try recreating it myself. This way I could personalize it with my own pesto and by increasing the amount of tomatoes and mushrooms, making it a bit more nutritious. There’s also the added benefit of homemade being a little easier on the wallet :)

Ingredients: (makes 6-8 servings)

~1 cup basil pesto (recipe here)

½ lb mushrooms (I used baby portobello, but any will do)

3-4 tomatoes (I’m partial to Roma tomatoes)

½ lb cavatappi pasta (may also be referred to as cellentani or fusilli rigati) - of course, any other pasta will work as well

1-2 TBSP canola or olive oil

Black pepper, garlic (ground or minced) to taste

Slice the mushrooms and roughly chop the tomatoes. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté mushrooms and tomatoes, seasoning with pepper and garlic.

In a large pot, cook pasta per instructions. Once pasta is al dente, drain the water. Mix in the sautéed tomatoes and mushrooms. Stir in pesto a little at a time until desired flavor is reached.

Serve up as-is or as a complement to your favorite protein, such as Parmesan-crusted chicken, pictured above.

~Karla

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Spirally pesto pasta goodness!http://cooksofcakeandkindness.blogspot.com/2015/11/pesto-cavatappi.html

Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Monday, November 9, 2015