When I'm feeling down, I crave comfort food and it's not always easy to make a healthy choice when you're chasing dopamine. But I got you! My easy pesto pasta recipe is only around 500 calories and 75p per portion. Good for your bank balance as well as your body.
Ingredients for 2 people
Penne pasta 200g
Reduced fat green pesto
1x yellow pepper & 1x green pepper
100g spinach
Salt & pepper to season
Vegetable oil to cook with
2x garlic cloves if you wish
This only takes me around 20 minutes to make and it goes lovely with a nice gin & tonic - cheers!
Start by adding your pasta to a saucepan of salted boiling water, while that's cooking slice your peppers into strips, then warm some oil in a pan (I like my stone one as its non-stick) when the oil is warm, after a minute or so, add your peppers and if you like garlic, add 2 crushed cloves. Make it easy with a garlic press.
Leave this cooking until your pasta is ready, then drain your pasta and put it back into the sauce pan. At this point I like to add 1tbsp of pesto to the pan with the peppers and stir them until they're all coated, cook for 2 minutes and then add your peppers to your pasta.
Next, put a little more oil in your pan and add the spinach. This will only take a couple of minutes to wilt, when it's done, add your spinach to your pasta and peppers, top with 2tbsp of pesto and stir thoroughly so all the pasta is coated and the peppers and spinach are distributed evenly. Serve & enjoy!
You can add some cheese on top if you fancy, or a side of garlic bread goes well too. Double the ingredients for 4 people, or you can make extra and keep the leftovers for lunch. Your pesto pasta will last in the fridge for around 3 days, and you can enjoy it cold or warm it through in the microwave for 1 or 2 minutes until its cooked through evenly.
If you try this recipe, let me know what you think
Zoe x
Pasta illustration designed and drawn by Zoe Rush
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