Fusilli with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
and mushrooms / zucchini / white beans
With leftover sun-dried tomato pesto from earlier in the week, this vegetarian one-pan (plus one for cooking pasta) meal comes together in a flash.
Smarts: Any beans would be great here, so try it with chickpeas, kidney beans, or even pinto beans if you prefer.
Ingredients
- Sun-dried tomatoes in oil - 1/2 cup, drained and rinsed
- Garlic - 1 clove, peeled
- Pecan halves - 1/4 cup
- Cheese, parmesan (opt) - 2 Tbsp
- Arugula - 1/2 oz
- Oil, olive - 1 1/2 Tbsp
- Water - 1 Tbsp
- Pasta, fusilli - 10 oz (sub any fun pasta shape)
- Zucchini - 1 lb, cubed
- Shallots - 2 cloves, diced
- Parsley, fresh - 2 Tbsp, chopped
- Cheese, fontina - 3 oz, grated (sub provolone or mozzarella)
- Mushrooms, any button - 8 oz, sliced (look for pre-sliced)
- Beans, cannellini or pinto (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Sun-dried tomato pesto (ingredients listed separately) - ~3/4 cup
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Pasta - Cook pasta according to package directions. If making ahead, toss with some oil to help prevent sticking. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make pesto - (Skip if made ahead for Tuesday.) Drain and rinse tomatoes. Peel garlic. Place all pesto ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until thickened. If it doesn’t blend easily, add more water a bit at a time. Season to taste with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Zucchini / Shallots / Parsley - Prep as directed. Store separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Cheese - Grate cheese. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Mushrooms (if not pre-sliced) - Slice mushrooms. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
- Beans - Drain and rinse.
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Make
- Turn on the oven’s broiler and move one oven rack so that it is about 6” / 15 cm below the heat source.
- Give pesto a stir and add some water until it is smooth and saucy enough to easily coat pasta.
- Heat a large oven-safe skillet with oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and zucchini and saute until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add shallots and some salt and saute for 2 minutes more.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in pasta, pesto, and beans.
- Top pasta with cheese and place under the broiler. Broil until cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes. (Be careful when you remove the skillet - the handle will be hot.)
- Serve pasta with parsley on top. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
28 reviews
Pretty good meal, but it definitely needed more salt! Judging by the other comments about the result being bland, I suspect a lot of people follow the recipes here to the letter. Don’t be afraid to add some salt or seasoning at any step of the process! I subbed basil olive oil for regular olive oil in the pesto to add extra flavor, and finished the meal with a sprinkling of Italian herbs and a garlic/onion salt blend. Red pepper flakes work well on top too! Beans added a weird texture to the meal though.
0 HelpfulDelicious and easy! 4 servings easily serve 6. More cheese needed and maybe some pine nuts next time for crunch!
0 HelpfulThe adults liked this meal, but not so much with the kids. This wasn’t a I’ll do it again kind of meal, but it was good and had lots of veggies. It probably would have been better if we could eat regular dairy. We did end up using the full doubled amount of pesto though.
0 HelpfulVery tasty and easy! The whole family liked it—including my husband who dislikes sun-dried tomatoes. We didn’t have mushrooms or arugula but used spinach and added broccoli.
0 Helpful