Brown Lentil Pasta with Tomatoes & Peppers / Macaroni with Tomatoes & Pesto

Fast and fresh...

My weakness when shopping for food is vegetables. I have a habit of buying too much produce and then frantically whipping up three different kinds of soup on the weekend in order to use everything up before it spoils. Lately, I've been trying to buy less, use it up sooner and get creative with what's in my fridge, rather than feeling the need to have everything on hand all the time.

This weekend I shopped at a farmers' market. It was a fresh, sunny day and the veggies were colourful, shiny and all very tempting. Luckily I could only take away what I could carry...a useful limiting strategy. And, this week I've tried to make fast, easy meals with just a few flavourful ingredients. It's amazing what a basket of fresh grape tomatoes can do for pasta.

Brown Lentil Pasta with Tomatoes and Peppers

Brown Lentil Pasta with Tomatoes and Peppers
Serves 2 + leftovers 

brown lentil pasta*
1 white onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic
1 red pepper
2 carrots, peeled and chopped thinly
1 1/2 cups of grape tomatoes
olive oil
sea salt and black pepper

Bring water and salt to boil in a medium pot. Add pasta, bring to a boil again and cook for 2 minutes only. Remove from heat and allow to sit in hot water for 10-15 minutes until tender. In the meantime, make the sauce.

Sauteé the first three vegetables in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil until tender. Add tomatoes and cook until they look swollen and ready to burst. Turn off heat and very carefully pierce tomatoes releasing juice.

Drain pasta and add to sauce. Toss with sauce, a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

*Brown lentil pasta is not widely available, but a real treat if you can find it. It has a similar texture to rice pasta, so it's essential that you don't overcook it, or it will be sticky. It's got a slightly nutty flavour, is a good source of protein and has exactly one ingredient: brown lentil flour. I bought mine at Maria's Home Made Noodles. 

Macaroni with Tomatoes and Pesto
Serves 2 + leftovers

1/2 box (170 grams) of dried whole wheat macaroni
2 cups of grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons of basil pesto*
1/3 cup of cheddar rice cheese ^
sea salt and black pepper

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Microwave tomatoes in a casserole dish with a lid for about 4-5 minutes. Very carefully pierce tomatoes to release juice – be careful not to burn yourself. Drain macaroni and add to tomatoes. Toss and add pesto and cheese. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper.

*My pesto had basil, sunflower seeds, and garlic. But choose any pesto you like.

^ I don’t eat cheese, so occasionally, I buy cheddar rice cheese when a recipe needs a little something. It melts well, tastes and feels much like cheddar, and is soy, dairy and gluten free. If you eat cheese, choose your favourite.