Pistachio Pesto [Brown Rice] Noodle Salad

Hi there!

Sunday night has come so quickly! My weekend was filled with things like running errands, hiking, cleaning and Apple tech support. My Mac was acting crazy the past couple of weeks, and since I rely on it for so much – including my full-time job, blogging, freelance writing work, plus all of the typical social media and Internet browsing nonsense – I was having a bit of a heart attack that my computer would conk out and I’d lose all of my files. I was debating whether or not to get another Mac or go with a cheaper option, but in the end, off to the Apple store I went to get a new MacBook. I’m an Apple brat now and I suppose there’s no turning back. 😉

There was something very anticlimactic about getting a new computer that looked exactly like my old computer, but hopefully this one will be speedy and reliable for at least the next couple of years. Last week I was going a little nuts working on both my old and new computers since I didn’t have all of my files transferred to the new Mac yet, so over the weekend I spent some time working to get that done. Problem solved now!

Last night was a low-key Saturday for my hubby and me. It included Monopoly game night….

…and this delicious dinner:

I saw this recipe in the March issue of Clean Eating magazine and immediately ripped the article out to try it. While the original recipe calls for zucchini ”pasta”, I don’t have the necessary spiral slicer to make zucchini strands (though I might need to get one!), so I decided to try using a different kind of pasta that I had never cooked with before:

Brown rice pasta. As if you can’t tell by my endless pasta recipes on the blog, I’m very gluten friendly. I have no problem putting down a bowl of regular delicious pasta! However, 1.) I like to experiment with different foods, and 2.) during our healthy dining experience at Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza & Grill a couple of months ago, my hubby said that he really liked their brown rice pasta bolognese dish. And so, I chose brown rice pasta for this dish.

The other main yummy elements to this recipe are:

Mini heirloom tomatoes. I love heirlooms and pretty much find anything mini to be enticing, so nabbing these at Trader Joe’s was a no brainer.

Pistachios.

Minced garlic from Gilroy Farms. Gilroy, the town next to where I’m living, is known as the garlic capital of the world. I kept seeing their jars of minced garlic at the market and finally decided to grab one.

No matter what kind of pesto you’re making, it needs fresh basil. I cut some from my little baby herb garden, which I actually just planted a couple of days ago and was a little sad to cut off half of the plant already! Other things I’m growing are strawberries, mint, green pepper and tomatoes. So fun!

Spring greens. 

I LOVED this pistachio pesto. I definitely plan to make it again, and will probably play around with what I pair it with. To make it, I just followed the recipe and combined pistachios, garlic, basil, avocado, olive, lemon juice, water and salt in my food processor:

My verdict on the brown rice pasta? I liked it…. but not quite as much as regular pasta. It had a bit of a different texture than regular pasta. If I had a gluten allergy or was just trying to reduce the amount of gluten I eat, I definitely would keep it in my cabinet for when a pasta craving strikes.

Pistachio Pesto [Brown Rice] Noodle Salad

Clean Eating Magazine

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Servings 4

Calories 460 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 12 oz brown rice pasta regular angel hair pasta works too!
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes/mini heirloom tomatoes cut into fourths
• 2 cups spring greens
• 1/2 cup raw shelled pistachios
• 1/2 TSP minced garlic
• 1/4 TSP sea salt plus more for seasoning to taste before serving
• 1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 oz avocado pitted, peeled, and chopped
• 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 TSP fresh lemon juice

Instructions

 

• Cook the pasta according to directions.
• Meanwhile, to prepare the pesto: process pistachios, garlic and salt in a food processor until finely ground. Add the basil, avocado, oil, and lemon juice and process until well combined. Add 2 TBSP water and pulse to combine. Add another 2 TBSP water and process until well combined again.
• Once pasta is drained, return back to pot. Add the pesto, tomatoes, and spring greens, and toss to combine well. Add additional sea salt to taste.

Nutrition

Calories: 460kcalCarbohydrates: 73gProtein: 10gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 1gFiber: 7g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!