← Nouns Cooking · Plant-Based

Ingredients

• 350 g gluten-free pasta (fusilli or penne)
• 250 g Cherry tomatoes, halved
• 100 g baby spinach
• 75 g Pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1 bunch large bunch of basil (about 40 g)
• 1 handful Parsley
• 1 clove Garlic
• 3 tbsp Nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 Lemon, zested and juiced
• 100 ml Olive oil
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 pinch Chilli flakes (optional)

Method

1. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 3–4 min, shaking often, until they puff and start to pop. Tip onto a plate and keep 2 tbsp aside for the top.
2. Blitz the remaining seeds, basil, parsley, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon zest and juice and salt in a food processor. With the motor running, pour in the oil to make a loose, slightly textured pesto. Taste and season.
3. Cook the pasta in well-salted boiling water until al dente, following the packet. Gluten-free pasta goes from firm to soft quickly, so start tasting early. Save a mug of cooking water, then drain.
4. Return the pasta to the pan off the heat. Add the pesto, spinach and tomatoes with a splash of pasta water and toss until glossy and the spinach just wilts.
5. Serve topped with the saved seeds and a pinch of chilli flakes.

Tips

• Free of nuts, dairy, gluten and egg. Sunflower seeds work in place of pumpkin seeds.
• The pesto keeps for 4 days in the fridge under a thin layer of oil, or freeze it in an ice-cube tray.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Love and Lemons