Orecchiette with silverbeet pesto

A speedy vegetarian pasta perfect for a midweek meal option. Creamy and salty, feta is perfect with silverbeet and tossed through pasta.

Recipe «Orecchiette with silverbeet pesto» presented in category Recipes / Vegetarian, to prepare this dish you will need no more 15 minutes. To make this dish at home by prescription from the author Gomer would need: 1 small bunch silverbeet, de-stemmed, 400g Barilla Orecchiette dried pasta, 50g pine nuts, toasted, 1 large garlic clove, chopped, 3/4 tsp lemon rind, finely grated , 120g smooth feta, crumbled, 60ml extra virgin olive oil, 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice , 1 tbsp water, Extra virgin olive oil, extra, to drizzle.

Ingredients:

• 1 small bunch silverbeet, de-stemmed 
• 400g Barilla Orecchiette dried pasta 
• 50g pine nuts, toasted 
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped 
• 3/4 tsp lemon rind, finely grated 
• 120g smooth feta, crumbled 
• 60ml extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice 
• 1 tbsp water 
• Extra virgin olive oil, extra, to drizzle 

Instructions

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil over high heat. Season with salt. Add silverbeet leaves. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes or until just blanched. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a colander. Refresh under cold running water. Dry well.
2. Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup cooking liquid. Return the pasta and liquid to saucepan.
3. Meanwhile, reserve 1 tbs pine nuts. Process the silverbeet, garlic, lemon rind and remaining pine nuts in a food processor until finely chopped. Add 60g of the feta. Process until smooth. Combine the oil, juice and water in a jug. Add to the silverbeet mixture in a slow steady stream, processing until smooth. Season.
4. Add the silverbeet pesto to the pasta mixture and gently toss to combine. Sprinkle with the reserved pine nuts and remaining feta. Drizzle with the extra oil.