Portobello Pesto Pizzas
with Italian pasta salad
These vegetable-based pizzas have been a long-time favorite in our members' kitchens since May 2014. We add a pasta salad to round out this Italian inspired dinner.
Ingredients
- Pine nuts - 2 Tbsp (sub walnuts or pecans)
- Garlic - 1 clove, peeled
- Cheese, parmesan (opt) - 1 oz, grated
- Basil, fresh - 1 1/2 oz
- Lemon juice - 2 tsp
- Oil, olive - 3 Tbsp
- Mushrooms, portobello - 4
- Tomatoes, medium - 2, sliced
- Oil, cooking - 2 Tbsp
- Cheese, fresh mozzarella - 5 oz, sliced
- Pesto (ingredients listed separately) - ~1/4 cup
- Pasta, fusilli - 6 oz (sub any pasta shape)
- Bell peppers, red - 1, chopped
- Cucumbers - 10 oz, chopped
- Olives, any pitted (5 oz / 142 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed (look for pre-sliced to save time)
- Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
- Honey - 1 tsp
- Mustard, Dijon - 1 tsp
- Vinegar, red wine - 1 1/2 Tbsp
- Oil, olive - 2 Tbsp
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Make pesto - (Skip if pesto was made ahead for Monday.) Toast nuts in a dry skillet or frying pan until fragrant and golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Peel garlic cloves. Place nuts, garlic, cheese, basil leaves and lemon juice into a food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are well chopped. With food processor running, drizzle in olive oil (portion for the pesto) until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Cook pasta - Boil pasta according to package directions. If using right away, rinse under tap water to cool. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Bell peppers / Cucumbers - Prep as directed and combine. (Can be done up to 4 days ahead)
- Portobello mushrooms - Remove stems. Using the side of a spoon, scrape out the inside gills (the dark ridge-y stuff). (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Tomatoes / Cheese - Prep as directed.
- Olives - Drain and rinse olives. (Chop into slices if not already sliced.)
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Make
- Heat oven to 400F / 204C degrees.
- Brush portobello mushrooms with cooking oil (both sides). Place portobellos cap side down (or stem-side up, even though the stems are gone) on a sheet pan. Spoon pesto into mushrooms. Top with a slice of tomato and then a slice of cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until cheese is bubbly.
- While mushrooms cook, whisk together Italian seasoning, honey, mustard, vinegar and olive oil (portion for the pasta salad) in a mixing bowl. Add pasta, bell peppers, cucumbers and olives and toss to combine. Season with some salt and pepper.
- Serve mushrooms with pasta salad on the side. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
24 reviews
The pesto was the star of this show for me, but I liked how easy and quickly this all came together
0 HelpfulGood meal but felt like a lot of effort with essentially 2 dishes (pasta and portobellos), two "sauces" (pesto and dressing), and 2 cooking methods (roasting and boiling).
0 HelpfulPesto was really good. I added extra garlic so it was kinda spicy. I followed the recipe for the pasta salad, and it was really good. I think I used too much cheese on the mushrooms and it slid off, but it was still good.
0 HelpfulThe frittata is so good that it doesn't need the pesto. I actually thought the pesto detracted from the taste a little. The marinated veggies are a perfect side, especially on a hot summer day.
0 Helpful