Pesto Pasta and Meatballs

June 28 - Pasta is one of the most versatile meals you can make, with so many possible variations, resulting in countless delicious results. I have tons of pasta recipes saved and ready to go, but for today’s dinner I followed along with one of Brenda and Bob’s go-to meals; pesto pasta with veggies. Brenda calls this pasta a “vegetable delivery service,” but I think it’s probably her way of trying to make pasta seem healthier. Regardless, (or irregardless as she’d say) I think the dish (actually healthy or not), loaded with bright vegetables and fresh pesto, is soon to become one of my go-to meals when I head back to school in the fall.

Making the pasta and veggies on their own is very simple. Roast some vegetables in the oven with olive oil and pepper, and steam others. We roasted sweet peppers and broccoli, and steamed peas. Boil the pasta as you normally would and add pre-made pesto you can pick up at your grocery store. It’s fairly easy to make homemade if you’re into that, but definitely not necessary. Additionally, we laid out a spread of tomatoes, avocado, olives, and burrata cheese to be added afterwards. Burrata cheese is definitely not adding any health benefit, but really who would argue against adding this beautiful, creamy cheese to any meal?

Where my recipe planning came into play here was adding something substantial that could bring the pasta together to be a full personal-chef-worthy meal. Brenda already had all the ingredients to make the veggies and the pasta before I even came over, so I had to figure out exactly what would go well with pesto, but not be too heavy to compete with carb-loaded pasta. I perused through far too many cookbooks and decided on a turkey-pesto meatball recipe from The Epicurious Cookbook. Combining ground turkey, some bread crumbs (we used panko), one egg and pesto is all that was needed to form the meatballs. We put in less pesto than was called for, since we already had plenty on our pasta, so feel free to add the pesto to taste. Also, the recipe said to cook them in a skillet, but we just placed them on a baking sheet alongside the pan where the veggies were roasting and turned them halfway through (Bake at about 375 for 20-25 minutes, or until an internal temp of 165F). These meatballs are super simple, lean, and delicious, and since they take barely any extra time to make, they maintain the low-maintenance and quick nature of the original pasta recipe.

I really loved this meal, not only because it was so satisfying to eat, but because it really was easy and applicable to not only a weeknight at home, but to a college lifestyle. As someone who’s going to be responsible for my meals next semester, I’m excited to have a recipe like this up my sleeve, that’s not only easy but colorful, filling, and well-rounded. I recommend this meal for the next time you’re craving pasta but want to change things up a bit.

#cooking #pasta #veggies #pesto #basil #turkeymeatballs #chef #recipe