Pesto penne with summer veggies

Pesto Penne with Garden Fresh Vegetables

In the spring when I’m planting my veggie garden I always promise myself that I won’t plant too much of one thing, but when I get to the nursery and there are 50 types of tomatoes I can’t stop at just one plant. The write up on each variety speaks to me like the wine label descriptions. This year I controlled myself and only ended up with an Early Girl and a Brandywine heirloom. (See what I mean about the wine labels?) I figured the Early Girl would be close to finish with it’s production when the heirloom begins. Boy was I wrong, right now I have both producing like crazy. I’m picking about 8 tomatoes a day. My neighbors are enjoying our bounty and I’m loving tomato sandwiches, salads and pastas.

Tomatoes from my garden
Tomatoes from my garden

This recipe is one that I’ve been making a lot lately because I absolutely love fresh pesto with summer garden veggies. I also have an abundance green beans right now so my recipe includes them but you can substitute any veggie that you like in this recipe. It would be excellent with squash, mushrooms or carrots for example.

my vegetable garden
nasturtium, beans, lettuce and squash growing in my vegetable garden

For the pesto you can use garlic infused oil or garlic and olive oil. The reason I use garlic infused oil is because we both have sensitive stomachs. If you cannot tolerate garlic, give garlic infused oil a try. It has saved my ability to cook so many amazing recipes that I wouldn’t have been able to cook had I not tried garlic infused oil. My favorite brand is LA Tourangelle but any brand should work.

Not all gluten-free pastas are created equal. I recommend pastas made from rice, lentils, corn or quinoa over chickpeas Chickpeas give the pasta a thick texture that, in my opinion, doesn’t work well with most pasta recipes. My favorite pasta brands are Jovial and Ancient Harvest but there are a lot of great gluten free pasta brands on the market now.

Pesto Penne with Garden Fresh Vegetables

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Recipe by Jackie’s Veggie Kitchen Course: dinner, lunchDifficulty: Easy
Servings

2

Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

8

minutes

Gluten-free, dairy-free pesto sauce over garden fresh vegetables

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces gluten-free penne

  • 2 cups green beans

  • 2 medium tomatoes

  • 1/2 cup garlic infused oil or 3 cloves garlic and 1/2 cup olive oil

  • 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves

  • 2 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

  • 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions

  • Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse with warm water, drain and return to pot or bowl.
  • While pasta is cooking trim beans and cut into 2 inch pieces. Steam the beans until tender but cooked. I use a microwave steamer with a little water. It takes 4 minutes in full power mode.
  • While beans and pasta cook make pesto sauce:
    Put oil, garlic (if using), basil, lemon, walnuts and salt in blender and puree, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
  • Chop tomatoes into 1/2″ pieces.
  • Add half of the pesto sauce to the pasta, gently toss.
  • Plate the pasta. Layer green beans and fresh tomatoes over the pasta. Drizzle remaining pesto over the top.

Notes

  • Non-dairy shredded parmesan cheese is delicious sprinkled over the top.
  • If you like a crunchy texture add toasted almonds over the top.

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