My 13-year old daughter hates pasta! Which to me is quite an odd food to hate. It’s not like it has some strong flavor or weird texture!
Anyway, I made this pasta dish and not only did you like it, she had the leftovers the next day! Wow!
I was running really low on fresh produce which meant I was forced to look in the pantry for my ingredients. I found pasta (capellini) and some artichoke hearts…hmm a start. In my freezer I had green peas and pesto (which I put into ice cube trays and then once frozen I put them in a freezer bag). In my fridge I had some tofu that REALLY needed to be used. I must say that I don’t use tofu very often AT ALL. But I had purchased it thinking that I wanted to use it in a dinner dish. Anyway, the meal came together nicely and I was quite surprised that my kids didn’t mind the tofu. Note that I didn’t say they loved it, but I was simply glad they ate it without complaints. My youngest even said, “Hmm, this is pretty good!’ Ahh music to my ears 🙂
Pesto Pasta with Chipotle Lime Tofu
8 oz of Whole wheat Capellini or Angel Hair Pasta
1 can of White Beans, drained (I used Great Northern)
1 12oz jar of artichoke hearts, drain
1 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 TBS pesto
1 package of firm tofu, drained and pressed
Marinade
juice from 1/2 lime
2 TBS soy sauce
salt and pepper
After draining the tofu, “press” it by lining a plate with paper towel. Place the tofu on the paper towel and put another paper towel on top. Then place something heavy on top of the tofu (like a heavy pot or bowl). Let it drain for about 30 minutes if you’ve got the time.
Once that is done, slice the tofu into small squares (or triangles which is what I did). Place the tofu and the marinade in a small dish and let it sit for a while (anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight).
Boil a large pot of water and cook the pasta according to directions.
While the pasta is cooking heat 2 TBS of coconut oil on medium heat. Add the tofu and and sear on each side for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.
Chipotle Lime Tofu
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
juice from 1/2 a lime
1 TBS maple syrup
1/2 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. When the tofu is done cooking add it to the sauce and coat evenly.
In a large colander, drain the artichoke hearts and the white beans. I left them both in the colander so that I could pour the hot water from the pasta over them to heat them up. My peas were still frozen, so I added them to the pasta when there was only one minute of cooking time left. I drained the pasta and the peas over top of the artichoke hearts and the beans. I then put all of these back into the pasta pot. Add the pesto and stir thoroughly to evenly coat the pasta.
Dish up the pasta and top each plate with the tofu.
Source: WFM 1-10