No Cook Pesto Bowtie Pasta
No Cook Pesto Bowtie Pasta
Yields: 4 individual portion size
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Total Time:
Utensils
Mixing Bowl
Tongs or Mixing Ladel
Cooking Strainer
Cooking Pot (for Pasta)
Ingredients
2 cups (112g) Bowtie Pasta (or any Pasta you have on hand)
2 cups (480ml) Water
1 teaspoon (5ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil (aka EVOO)
1 knob (14g) Unsalted Butter
4 tablespoons (60g) Storebought Pesto Sauce
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar (15ml) (cannot omit - you will be amazed how much flavour it adds to this dish)
1 handful (100g)Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1/4 (20-25g) Small Red Onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon (0.5g) Dried Parsely
1 teaspoon (1g) Crushed Red Chilli Flakes
1 teaspoon (1g) Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon (0.5g) Kasthuri Methi aka Dried Fenugreek Leaves (my Indian Ayurvedic touch to this meal!)
Salt
Let's Get Cooking
Cook Pasta
1. Add water and a generous handful of salt to a cooking pot. Turn stovetop on to a medium heat and let the water come to gentle simmer. Stir occasionally with cooking ladel.
2. When you see water bubbles forming (a soft boil), that's the perfect time to add your pasta.
CTD Tip from Meal Prep YouTube Video (Week 1): I had frozen broccolini on hand, so threw that right into the pasta water too! This dish is such an easy way to use up whatever vegetables you’ve got lying around.
👉 Click here to watch the YouTube video.
3. Once your pasta is al dente (see Common Q&A's for how to tell if your pasta is al dente or not under Notes), strain using a mesh strainer.
4. Add cooked pasta into a bix mixing bowl. Immediatley add 1 teaspoon EVOO and unsalted butter. Gently toss with tongs or ladel until pasta is well coated. Then add the pesto sauce and balsamic vinegar, and mix the ingredients thoroughly.
5. Now add the remaining ingredients: cherry tomatoes, red onion, italian seasoning, crushed red chilli flakes and dried parsely.
6. For some Indian Ayurvedic goodness to this dish, take 1 teaspoon of Dried Fenugreek Leaves in your palms and rub it inbetween your palms directly over the pasta. The natural oils and warmth from your hands help release the flavour and make it easier to digest.
7. Serve & enjoy your delicous No Cook (after the pasta) Pesto Bowtie Pasta!
Notes
1. Variations: This recipe is incredibly forgining so feel free to build flavour to this recipe the way you like it. If you have any leftover cheese like feta, parmesan that would be so great to add to this recipe. Add some protein - like hard boiled eggs, or airfried crispy tofu, or even panfried paneer cube into bite-size pieces!
2. Common Q&A's for this recipe:
How to tell if your pasta is cooked to the bite aka "al dente" as the Italians say?
Bite into the middle of the pasta and if you notice yellow in the center with white edges around the area you have bitten the pasta is "al dente"
DID YOU TRY THIS RECIPE?
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Or, send me an email 💌 chikkatikkadiaries@gmail.com
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