Pasta With Sundried Tomato Pesto

Ingredients

• penne pasta; gluten-free if required
• olive oil
• butter (optional)
• garlic cloves
• red chilli flakes; or to taste (skip for a milder taste)
• bell pepper
• eggplant
• cherry tomatoes
• black pitted olives
• sundried tomato pesto
• fresh basil leaves for garnish
• grated parmesan; optional

Equipment List

This is a pretty straightforward stovetop recipe. (if you are looking for a recipe on how to use Instant Pot to cook pasta, check out my Cajun pasta recipe which I prepared using an Instant Pot).

You will need the following equipment/utensils to prepare the dish:

• Large pot to cook pasta
• Colander to drain pasta
• Small bowls and cups
• Cooking spoons
• Chopping board & knife
• Measuring cups/spoons
• Box grater/Microplane to grate a fresh block of parmesan

Step by Step Instructions

Full recipe + measurements + video can be found in the recipe card below.

prep work

wash and dice bellpepper, eggplant and mushrooms.

halve the cherry tomatoes lengthwise

chop the pitted black olives

finely chop the garlic

mise-en-place (get everything ready)

cooking

Cook the pasta according to the package directions

while the pasta is cooking, we can prepare the vegetables.

heat oil and butter on medium heat.

add chopped garlic and red chili flakes (if using). Fry until aromatic.

Add bell pepper, cook for 2-3 minutes, then add eggplant. Sprinkle some salt and let the eggplant cook (just starts to get tender; don't let it get mushy). Add the mushrooms. Mix the sundried tomato pesto and fry for a minute or two. Now add the cherry tomatoes followed by olives. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Drain the cooked pasta (reserve ½ cup pasta water) and toss the pasta with the vegetables. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Serve hot garnished with basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

What Other Pasta Shapes Would Work?

Any pasta shapes that would work in the pasta primavera recipe would be perfect to use in the recipe.

Penne

Bowtie pasta

Any spiral-shaped pasta like fusilli, gemelli will also be good.

What are the Other Vegetables You can use?

Think of any seasonal vegetable you want to incorporate into your diet:

• zucchini
• yellow squash
• asparagus
• broccoli
• spring onion
• shallots
• onion

This recipe is a good way to use up some of the half-used vegetables in your refrigerator. Dice everything and toss it into the pan.

The quantities I have given for the vegetables are what I use for my family. It is not a hard & fast measurement and you have a lot of leeways to use your favorite vegetables. But make sure that there is a good balance of vegetables and pasta.

Alternative Measurements

Like I said, earlier, these measurements need not be very precise.

1 cup= 250 ml. Typical US cups are 240 ml. You can use the standard US cups for this recipe without any problem.

• 250 grams bell pepper - approximately 2 cups diced
• 300 grams eggplant - approximately 4 cups diced
• 125 grams mushrooms - approximately 2 cups diced
• 80 grams cherry tomatoes - approximately ½ cup halved lengthwise
• 50 grams pitted black olives - approximately ½ cup chopped
• 225 grams pasta - approximately 8oz.

Meal Prep Tips

Typically, I use two burners on my stove whenever I prepare pasta - one to cook the pasta and one to cook the sauce. I start with boiling the water for pasta first. Once I start cooking the pasta, I start working on the sauce, in this case, start cooking the vegetables. Usually, the sauce and the pasta get ready almost simultaneously, which lets me add the freshly drained pasta to the sauce.

You can cook the vegetables and save the "sauce" in an air-tight container for 2-3 days and reheat them thoroughly before adding freshly cooked pasta. Make sure that the vegetables are cooked just enough. (They will get cooked again when you reheat).

More Pasta Recipes

• If you enjoy Indian flavors, this masala pasta is a must-try.
• A simple summer-y pasta with fresh asparagus!
• Garbanzo beans & pasta - simple, and filling!
• Cajun spices and spinach makes this pasta delicious and super flavorful.
• A simple pasta alfredo bake loaded with vegetables

Additional Tips

• 1 CUP = 250 ML. (US cups are typically 240 ml. You can use US cups with no significant change to the dish). 
• 1 TEASPOON = 5ML; 1 TABLESPOON= 15 ML
• Grams to cups measurements – we strive to provide these conversions as accurately as possible. There might be some slight variations depending on the brand, weighing scale, etc.
• serving size - this serves 3-4 people. adjust the serving size to suit your dietary needs.
• Do not overcook the pasta.
• Do not overcook the vegetables - keep them tender crips to get the best results.