Pasta with pesto, broccoli rabe and cherry tomatoes

I am on a pesto kick today! I finally went to the grocery store this morning and decided to make something different using the leftover pesto. I knew I wanted it to be a pasta dish, and I knew I wanted to include cherry tomatoes, but I wanted a special green. I thought about spinach or arugula, but eventually decided broccoli rabe would be a fun and challenging choice. I have never cooked broccoli rabe before, so I decided to jump right in and let it cook down in some olive oil and kosher salt for about ten minutes.

The rabe before cooking down.

After about ten minutes, the rabe had cooked down a ton, and I added cherry tomatoes, garlic and crushed red pepper. I also added a squirt of tomato paste but I don’t really think it did much. Maybe I should have used more?

Teeny tiny stove. I had to transfer the rabe and tomatoes to another pan because the stove top couldn’t fit two big pans Oh, NYC apartments.

I mixed the pesto into the pasta before using a slotted spoon to transfer the veggies. The cherry tomatoes burst while being cooked and created some sauce at the bottom. I added a little bit to the pasta but left the rest so it wouldn’t get watery.

I added some parmigiano on top.

The verdict: for being a non-recipe recipe, this was pretty good! It took about 40 minutes including clean up (not that long, considering I have about 3 leftover portions), but you could definitely do it even faster if you have a normal-sized kitchen and you were boiling the pasta water as the veggies were sauteeing. The sweetness of the tomatoes really evened out the bitterness of the rabe. The pesto flavor was nice but I think I would have needed more for it to really come through. It tasted great on bites of pasta, but did not really cover the veggies. All in all, I think this was a healthy, interesting concoction!

Bag o’ groceries from earlier:

• Bananas
• Grapes
• Broccoli rabe
• Cherry tomatoes
• Lettuce mix
• Avocado
• Lime
• Eggs
• Salsa
• Tortilla chips
• Eli Zabar wheat loaf

I have to do some work this afternoon and then I’m going to see Shutter Island later tonight. Kind of scared!!

Freezer mania…and pesto!

So, I had a super early dinner this evening. I think it was mainly because I was bored…but it was still delicious. I used up something from the Pantry Challenge! Woo! I had Amy’s Butternut Squash soup along side some cinnamon raisin toast. I doctored the soup with some pepper and cinnamon. Such a good dinner for a frigid day. It was inspired by this article by the Amateur Gourmet that I read this afternoon. I love soup!

Loooove dipping.

I went grocery shopping this evening because I had to get out of my apartment. Generally I wait until Saturday or Sunday for groceries but I was antsy from sitting around all day doing work. Here’s what I picked up:

• Ezekiel 4:9 bread (have been dying to try this for awhile)
• Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin English muffins
• 3 Amy’s Margherita Pizzas (on sale!!!!)
• Tazo Green tea
• Fennel
• Italian salad mix
• Basil
• Grapes
• San Marzano tomatoes (the best tomatoes)
• Bananas
• PB
• Garlic
• Shallot
• Avocado
• Parmigiano Reggiano

I have plans to make a little somethin’ somethin’ tomorrow (you’ll have to check back and see what it is ) that requires basil…however Whole Foods was only selling this massive container of it.

I figured I would just freeze the leftovers but then came up with a much better idea…homemade pesto!! I rarely ever use my mini food processor — I haven’t since this summer — and I am so happy I got to put it to use tonight.

My pesto: basil, almonds, parmigiano reggiano, garlic, EVOO and pepper.

Grind it up!

It came out delicious. So fresh. I love basil, it is my absolute favorite herb.

The Microplane, used here for grating the parm, is the ultimate kitchen tool, agreed upon by my cousin Mike. I don’t know what I would do without my Microplane. I have stopped chopping garlic all together now and only grate it on this baby. Makes my life a lot easier.

So yummy. I don’t have any use for it right now so I threw it in the freezer for a later date.

My freezer is a little OOC right now.

I told you guys that lentil soup made a ton of leftovers! Plus five kinds of bread, frozen veggies, rice, coffee…it’s a tiny freezer. Maybe I should have a freezer challenge as well?

I have no plans for tonight besides relaxing…maybe renting a movie off iTunes? I went to Best Buy today to search for 500 Days of Summer, which I have been dying to buy, but I couldn’t find it. Boo.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s recipe. It’s a classic! Any guesses?

Night!