One of my best friends, Trevor, recently got me a big, beautiful basil plant for my birthday! So, when there's a ton of basil to use up, pesto seems like the natural choice! This pasta is mixed with sauteed veggies and coated in a delicious and fragrant walnut pesto. Pesto is typically made with pine nuts, but pine nuts are pretty expensive, making walnuts a great alternative!
INGREDIENTS
-1 cup whole grain rotini pasta
-1/2 zucchini
-1/2 red bell pepper
-***1 salmon steak
-1 cup fresh basil
-1/2 cup arugula (optional - can sub for more basil)
-1/4 cup walnuts
-2 cloves grated garlic
-1/8 cup Parmesan cheese
-1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
DIRECTIONS
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Heat olive oil in a small AND medium-sized skillet over medium heat.
2. To make the pesto, add the basil, arugula, walnuts, garlic, Parmesan, extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, and a splash of water to a blender. (I used a nutri ninja blender cup to do this because it's much smaller than a normal blender. But use whatever you have). Blend until smooth.
3. Dice the zucchini and red bell pepper. Season the salmon on both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
4. All at the same time: (1) add the zucchini and bell pepper to the medium-sized skillet and season with salt and pepper, (2) add the salmon to the small-sized skillet, and (3) add the rotini to the boiling water. Cook rotini according to package directions. Cook salmon about 4-5 minutes per side. Saute zucchini and bell pepper until tender.
5. Before draining the pasta, add about 1/4 cup of pasta water to the skillet with the vegetables. Drain the pasta and add to the skillet with the vegetables along with the pesto sauce. Mix.
6. Plate the pesto pasta and top with the cooked salmon. Garnish with chopped fresh basil leaves.
***MM Option: To make this meal meatless, simply leave off the salmon.