Meatless Monday with Penne with Sweet Summer Vegetables, Pine Nuts, and Herbs

Hello and welcome (back) to the Miratel  blog and thanks for stopping by for the weekly edition of our Meatless Monday vegan/vegetarian recipe series. We pledged our support of this great movement to encourage reducing meat consumption one day per week for the good of the planet and consider its promotion as part of our CSR business initiatives.

Today’s recipe is a delicious vegan pasta dish – penne with sweet summer vegetables, pine nuts, and herbs. This easy-to-make recipe uses fresh seasonal produce which can be found locally (and affordably) right now. Our dish comes courtesy of Gena Hamshaw at food52.com.

Ingredients

• 2 pints cherry tomatoes
• 2 ears corn, shucked and kernels cut off
• 2 large zucchini or summer squash, sliced in half lengthwise and then chopped into 1/2 inch thick slices
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided into 3 tbsp and 1 tbsp
• 8 ounces penne or farfalle pasta
• 1/3 cup torn basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
• Coarse salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Set a pot of boiled water on the stove to boil.
2. Toss vegetables and garlic with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Keep the corn separate, however. Divide all vegetables save corn onto baking sheets and start roasting them for 35-40 minutes, or until they’re vegetables are becoming sweet, golden, and slightly caramelized (to get this effect, you’ll want to avoid tossing them around too much as they cook). Fifteen minutes before the end of the roasting process, add the corn, which cooks a little faster than the other vegetables!
3. If you’re using the pine nuts, now is the time to toast them gently in a large frying pan set over medium heat. Stir them continually, and remove them as soon as they’re becoming golden.
4. Cook pasta till tender but slightly al dente. Drain and return to pot, reserving a small amount of the cooking liquid.
5. Add the roast vegetables, along with remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and a tiny bit of the cooking liquid, to the pasta. Toss in the basil and oregano, and serve, topped with toasted pine nuts if desired.

This recipe for penne with sweet summer vegetables, pine nuts, and herbs will serve four and can be adjusted easily. Feel free to use your favourite pasta – if you are looking to add fibre you can go with a whole wheat or spelt and for those with wheat sensitivities, a rice or quinoa pasta will also work. Complete this meal with a healthy green salad finished with a light Italian balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to visit the Meatless Monday website and personally take the pledge to eliminate meat from your diet one day per week. Spread the word at your work as well to promote this CSR business initiative and make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant or salon even greener.

Buon appetito!

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.