Whole Wheat Pasta With Pumpkin Seed And Spinach Pesto Recipes

SPINACH PESTO WITH WHOLE-WHEAT PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water; place a colander inside, resting in ice.
• In batches, stir spinach into boilingwater. Cook until wilted and brightgreen, about 30 seconds. Transfer spinachto the colander (in the ice bath)to stop cooking. Reserve boiling water.Cool completely in ice bath, then liftcolander; squeeze spinach dry.
• Cook pasta in reserved boiling water until al dente, according to package instructions. Save 1/2 cup pasta water; immediately drain pasta, and return to pot.
• Meanwhile, place spinach, Parmesan, walnuts, garlic, and lemon zest and juice in a food processor. Process until a coarse paste forms. With motor running, add oil and 1/4 cup plain water; process until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add tomatoes and pesto to pasta; toss, adding reserved pasta water to coat pasta, if necessary. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, as needed. Serve with additional Parmesan, if desired.

WHOLE-WHEAT PASTA WITH PUMPKIN-SEED AND SPINACH PESTO

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
• Meanwhile, combine toasted pumpkin seeds, parsley, chives, oil, garlic, 1 1/4 teaspoon salt, the lemon zest, and 1 cup baby spinach in a food processor. Season with pepper, and pulse until well combined.
• Toss pasta with pesto mixture. Add reserved cooking liquid, and mix until pasta is well coated. Fold in remaining 1 1/2 cups baby spinach. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Divide among 6 bowls. Top each with a dollop of ricotta, and season with pepper. Serve with tomato wedges if desired.

PUMPKIN SEED PESTO

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Combine pumpkin seeds, Parmesan, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse on and off, for about 20 seconds, until seeds are almost ground.
• Add basil, parsley, lemon juice, and olive oil, and pulse on and off for about 40 seconds (you may want to ​scrape down the sides with a spatula in between pulses), until all ingredients are combined. The mixture should be more like a course paste than a liquefied sauce, so be careful not to overprocess.
• Transfer to a bowl or glass storage jar, taste, and adjust seasoning with salt. Be sure to taste, as the pumpkin seeds may have been well salted when they were roasted. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to two days.