No-frills Bow Pasta in Tomato-Basil Pesto Sauce

There are so many posts lying in my drafts with pictures cropped, colour-corrected and uploaded… yet I haven’t been posting as regularly as I should. Mostly because I feel I have nothing new to say! Hmm... And if you are suggesting I just write a non-nonsense recipe, what’s there to say, then you really don’t know me. I have to say(write) something before I type in the dish of the day. Otherwise I feel like a failure :l

Strange, no? I put pressure on myself and then feel bad that I haven’t delivered. What a vicious cycle I tell you! 

So… Pasta. Yup… that ubiquitous dish that crops up on every blog. So how is my Pasta recipe different from any other? Umm… am not sure really. It’s easy? It’s so easy that it ‘s out of a bottle? Oh, and it has lotsa vegetables! Ok, it is super yummy.  Oh well…. I give up. It’s no gourmet dish. This pasta is regular, unoriginal and even the picture looks so bleh… but it is hearty and tasty. So if you are craving some minimum effort, no-frills, good food - you can turn to this post.

BOW PASTA IN TOMATO-BASIL PESTO SAUCE

Ingredients:

Bow pasta – 400gms

Waitrose Tomato-Basil Pesto – 50gms or more (about half a jar)

Broccoli

Red and Yellow Peppers

Baby Corn

Fresh Basil

Olive Oil – 1 tbsp

Garlic cloves - 4

Salt

Pepper

Bring about 10 cups of salted water to a boil in a large vessel. When the water starts bubbling, add in the pasta. Cook the pasta for about 10min or as per the instructions on the pack. Drain in a colander and wash immediately in some cold water.

Cut vegetables of your choice into thin strips or bite sized pieces. I used broccoli, red and yellow peppers and baby corn. But you can use just about anything like peas, carrots, mushrooms, chicken, etc.

In a non-stick pan, heat about 1 tbsp of Oilve Oil, add the chopped garlic cloves and fry till golden. Now add the chopped vegetables and stir fry with some salt, pepper and fresh basil leaves. The veggies should be cooked but crunchy and not mushy. Now spoon in half a jar of the Tomato-Basil Pesto and toss well. Add in the pasta and continue to combine till the Pesto sauce mixes in well. Add some water or cream if you like a more saucy consistency.

The way I like it:
You can add any sauce of your choice really. You can make the same dish with plain tomato sauce, a creamy mushroom sauce or even toss the pasta with some good old olive oil and spices.

And if you like to make your own tomato-basil pesto, here is a very simple recipe I found online - http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/26260/tomato-and-basil-pesto.