Pasta & mixed peppers with walnut & lemon pesto

A wheat-free main course, packed with peppers and nutty pesto.

Easy
Serves 3
Ready in 40 minutes
Vegetarian, Gluten-free

Ingredients

FOR THE WALNUT PESTO

25g walnut pieces
2 garlic cloves , crushed
zest of 1 large lemon
25g fresh parsley
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

FOR THE PASTA

2 small red onions , quartered and separated into pieces
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
250ml pack wheat-free pasta (we used Orgran rice and corn pasta)
250G jar mixed pepper antipasto, drained and sliced
50g vegetarian parmesan-style cheese , finely grated, plus extra shavings to serve

Method

1. Make the pesto. Put the walnuts, garlic and lemon zest in a food processor and whizz until finely chopped. Add the parsley, then drizzle the oil down the feed tube and whizz to combine everything together. Season to taste.

2. Preheat the grill to high. Tip the onions into a grill pan, sprinkle with 1 tbsp oil, then toss to coat. Arrange them in a single layer and grill for 6-8 minutes until lightly charred.

3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the pack instructions until just tender - it won't swell as much as wheat pasta, so taste a piece to check that it's just tender.

4. Drain the pasta in a colander. Tip the pesto, onions and peppers into the pasta pan and put back on the heat. Stir for a few moments, then add the pasta and then the cheese. Season and serve straight away, scattered with the cheese shavings.

Nutrition per serving

696 kcalories, protein 17g, carbohydrate 74g, fat 40 g, saturated fat 8g, fibre 5g, salt 2.7 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, February 2003.

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