A super easy pasta dish made with te most flavorful sun dried tomato pesto! 6 ingredients and less than 15 minutes to make this delicious meal!
My family loves pasta! It’s probably the only meal I can feed to them every single night for dinner and they never get tired of. And I don’t blame them! There are a million ways to cook pasta. The classic pasta and meatballs, pasta with marinara sauce, pasta with pesto, pasta with alfredo sauce to name just a few.
My husband is not a food adventurer. He prefers to stay with the classics. On rare occasions he would try something new, but don’t hold your breath.
Me, on the other hand, I love to try something new. Something I haven’t tried before. I’m always looking for that dish that will make me weak to my knees.
While in Sicily this summer we tried all kinds of pasta. The classics made by Italians plus new flavors that are very popular over there using locally grown ingredients.
There were 2 local pasta dishes that made my heart sing – Pasta with Sicilian Pesto and Pasta with Pistachio pesto.
Today we’re going to talk about Sicilian pesto with penne to celebrate #HealthyPastaMonth a month-long celebration of everything pasta organized by Dreamfields.
Why Dreamfields pasta? Dreamfields pasta offers more health benefits than traditional pasta with 5 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein per serving. Dreamfields is made with premium durum wheat semolina in North Dakota and it has the same delicious taste and texture of traditional pasta.
Sicilian pesto is different from the classic pesto we all know. It’s not bright green obviously!
It’s vibrant red color comes from sun-dried tomatoes. Sicily is the greenhouse of the entire Italy and it’s only normal they use the abundance of locally grown vegetables in their dishes.
During our vacation in Sicily, we ate several times pasta with Sicilian pesto and made in different ways. Some of the Sicilian pesto is made using fresh tomatoes, some use sun-dried tomatoes and others, my favorite, sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil!
The oil the tomatoes are packed in is filled with so much flavor, it would be a shame not to use it!
Another twist on the recipe is the use of almonds. Noto almonds!
Noto is a small town, few miles outside Syracuse and the almonds grown there are considered one of the protected foods of Sicily (Slow food Italy). We munched on Noto almonds there but because of their high price, for this recipe I used American store-bought almonds.
Becuase the pesto is made with no additional oil, it’s really thick. To smooth it out you’ll need to mix it with warm pasta and a few ladles of pasta water. Now it’s up to you how thick or thin you prefer your sauce. My advice is to start with 1 ladle and go from there.
Want to win some of your very own Dreamfield’s Pasta? Here’s how …. courtesy of Dreamfields Pasta
GIVEAWAY:
A family prize pack of Dreamfields Pasta PLUS a $25 gift card to spend as you choose!
TO ENTER:
Leave a comment below letting me know what’s the first dish you’ll be making using Dreamfields Pasta. That’s it!
For additional entries, share this post on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest using the hashtag #HealthyPastaMonth. Then, leave me a comment BELOW letting me know you did.
RULES:
The contest is open to those 18 years of age or older and that have a valid continental US mailing address. No purchase necessary. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries. One winner will be randomly chosen on November 7th 2015 and notified via email. The winner has 48 hours to reply or they forfeit prize and an alternate winner will be drawn.
Good luck!
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Yields 6 servings
A super easy pasta dish made with the most flavorful sun dried tomato pesto! 6 ingredients and less than 15 minutes to make this delicious meal!
10 minPrep Time
10 minCook Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 box Dreamfields Penne Rigate
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1 jar (8.5 ounces) sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid prior to
- draining. Place in large bowl; set aside.
- Meanwhile, place almonds in food processor container. Pulse until almonds resemble breadcrumbs.
- Add tomatoes with oil, basil, garlic, Parmesan, salt and pepper; process until blended completely with a creamy texture.
- Add pesto mixture to pasta. Stir in enough reserved cooking liquid to create a smooth silky sauce coating the pasta.
Notes
Nutrition information (1/6 of recipe): 390 calories; 14 g protein; 59 g carbohydrates; 17 g total fat; 1 g saturated fat; less than 5 mg cholesterol; 100 mg sodium; 8 g total dietary fiber.
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