Enjoy a nutritious and flavourful dish with Creamy Spinach Walnut Basil Pesto Pasta with Tofu, combining fresh basil, spinach, and silken tofu for a creamy pesto without cream. This basil walnut spinach pesto pairs wonderfully with your favourite pasta and is topped with toasted walnuts for added texture.note - ingredients can be approximate
Cover 450 g(1lb) extra firm tofu in a clean dish towel or paper towels and place between two hard and heavy objects for at least 15 minutes. This will ensure any excess liquid is removed and allow the tofu to absorb the flavour from the spinach pesto with walnuts.
Add 500 g(2cups) pasta to boiling water and cook according to packet instructions (minus 1 minute). Once complete, drain and rinse in cold water.
Add 350 g(12 oz) silken tofu, 100 g(2cups) spinach, 20 g(½cups) fresh basil, 65 g(½cups) walnuts, 25 g(¼cups) parmesan, 30 g(2tablespoon) lemon juice, 2 cloves garlic, Salt and pepper into a stick blender and blend until smooth.
Cook
Heat some of the oil from the sundried tomatoes over a pan on medium heat. Add 450 g(1lb) extra firm tofu, 1 zucchini, 1 onion and cook until lightly browned (approx. 10 minutes)
Add 500 g(2cups) pasta, sauce, 100 g(1cups) sundried tomatoes and 200 g(1 cups) cherry tomatoesMix until all combined.
Serve
Video
Notes
Note 1 - Parmesan Freshly grated is recommended. For completely plant-based, substitute with nutritional yeast. Note 2 - Garlic and Lemon Fresh is recommended. If needed, substitute with pre-minced and bottled.StoringStore in the fridge for up to 5 days. Because of the fresh basil and spinach in the pesto, the colour of the pesto sauce might become slightly dull throughout the week. ReheatingYou can have this cold or if you want to reheat, add a splash of water before reheating in the microwave on one minute intervals (it'll take approx. 3 minutes to reheat).