The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, was Whole Grain Spaghetti with Roasted Tomato and Almond Pesto, chosen by Ellie Krieger herself for our group, how cool is that? It's a brand new Ellie recipe and she gifted it to us to give it a try. It's really good.
I don't usually post recipes here, only internet links provided by the cookbook authors, but Ellie put the recipe on our CEiMB site where anyone can view it, so I am including this one for you here.
I followed the recipe as written, she gives the option of using ripe plum tomatoes or a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, I chose to do the can of fire-roasted as plum tomatoes in the markets right now are not all that great and the fire-roasted tomatoes in the can are wonderful. Other than that, I used all the same ingredients and all the same measurements and the result was delicious.
Olive oil cooking spray
1 1/3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cored, seeded and quartered (about 6 medium) or 1 15 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes, drained
1/3 cup blanched sliced almonds
1 medium clove of garlic
1/3 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 pound Whole Grain Spaghetti (note: I like Barilla)
If using fresh tomtatoes, Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking tray with cooking spray. Place the tomatoes on the tray and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, until they are soft and slightly charred. When the tomatoes are nearly done, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
In a medium dry skillet, toast the almonds over a medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until they are golden and fragrant, 3-4 minutes.
Transfer the nuts to a food processor, add the garlic and process until they are finely ground. Add the roasted or canned tomatoes, basil, vinegar and pepper flakes to the processor. As the processor is running, drizzle in the olive oil in a steady stream. Add the parmesan cheese and ¼ teaspoon salt and pulse to combine.
Add the pasta to the water and cook according to the directions on the package. Drain and return the pasta to the pasta pot or to a serving bowl. Add the sauce and toss to combine. Season with additional salt to taste. Serve garnished with whole basil leaves.
Makes 6 servings
Serving size: 1 ¼ cups
Prep time: 12 minutes
Cooking time: 36 minutes
I hope you give it a try because it is easy, healthy, and very very good. We all enjoyed it and it will be making the regular rotation around here in the future. This was such fun to have a new recipe from the author. Thank you, Ellie!
Next week's assignment is Muesli Parfaits, chosen by Sarah of Sarah's Kitchen Adventures, on page 36 of Ellie's book So Easy. You can find the CEiMB blogroll here.
