Pesto Pasta with Mushrooms and Tomatoes

I've been craving pesto for a few weeks now and my basil plant is definitely big enough to use a bunch of it at once. On a grocery trip in mid July, I could not find pine nuts. I guess the Lowe's Foods near my house doesn't carry them and I didn't feel like going to another store that evening. I figured I could wait to make the pesto another time. On Monday, I was scrolling through 347 new reader feeds after missing a few days of blog reading. I stumbled onto My Kitchen Addiction's recipe for Pesto Caprese Pasta Salad. I noticed she used walnuts instead of pine nuts for the pesto. Brilliant! I have walnuts!

I was looking for a basic pesto recipe, though so I googled walnut pesto and came up with this recipe from Simply Recipes. I had all of the ingredients listed and it sounded like a nice, basic pesto I could make and enjoy. I followed the exact instructions from that recipe and the pesto turned out absolutely delicious. It seems a little darker and a little heavier than pesto made with pine nuts but once I got it into a bowl with the rest of the meal, it blended in nicely.

Pesto Pasta with Chicken, Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Serves: 2 big portions

8oz Cavatappi noodles
1 cooked chicken breast, sliced

1 tomato, chopped

6 mushrooms, sliced

4 tablespoons pesto

1 small handful of shredded Parmesan cheese

• Cook the cavatappi pasta to al dente. Do not overcook as you will be heating it again. Drain and set aside.
• Saute the sliced mushrooms over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 30 seconds or until the tomatoes are warm.
• In a large pan, warm one teaspoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the noodles, chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms and pesto to the pan. Heat just long enough for the chicken to become warm. Shake the pan to cover everything with an even layer of pesto. Divide into two servings and sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top of each dish.