Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here’s a an appropriately green recipe to get you in the spirit!

This one is from Everyday with Rachael Ray and came to me courtesy of my sister-in-law, Mindy. Her husband is notoriously “selective” when it comes to food and she prefaced her email by saying that he’d helped himself to seconds and thirds when she made this, so I knew it would be good!

After a few small adjustments for taste and vegan ingredients, I too found myself standing over the stove after dinner, eating out of the saucepan. Don’t judge – you could be next.

Vegan Cashew-Pesto Pasta
Recipe Courtesy of Everyday with Rachael Ray

Ingredients

12 oz. medium whole wheat pasta (any medium pasta will do)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper
2 cups baby spinach*
1/4 cup roasted or raw cashews
1/4 cup vegan parmesan, plus more for serving
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon

*You can also use flat-leaf parsley, arugula or any kind of spinach here.

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, return the pasta to the pot and toss with 2 tbs olive oil. Cover to keep warm.
• Meanwhile, on a baking sheet, toss the tomatoes with 2 tbs olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until wrinkled, about 12-15 minutes.
• Using a food processor, finely chop the spinach, cashews, parmesan, garlic and lemon juice. With the machine on, slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Combine the pasta, tomatoes and pesto in the pot or a serving bowl. Serve with more parmesan.

Note: I skipped adding 2 tbs of olive oil to the cooked pasta and added just a little less than 1/2 cup to the pesto. Feel free to do your own thing.

Yield: Serves 4