Rocket – Daily Gluttony

This delicious pasta dish will ensure you and your family are getting your daily dose of greens! Ready in a flash, and with a chilli pop that will keep you warm in winter, it’s the perfect weeknight main meal or side to grilled meat.

Ingredients

2 cups of Green Vegetables – I used McCain Garden Greens – cooked as per packet instructions
¼ cup of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic – halved and finely sliced
1 long red chilli – halved, seeds and membrane removed, and finely sliced
The juice of 1 lemon
500g of Orecchiette pasta
1/3 cup of green basil pesto
100g of rocket
Shaved parmesan to serve
Salt and pepper to season

Method

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water, to al dente, and drain, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.
Heat olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add sliced garlic and chilli and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add pesto, pasta, Green Vegetables, lemon juice and season to taste. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add reserved pasta water sparingly to lubricate the pasta and create a dry sauce.
Divide rocket evenly amongst bowls, top with Garden Green Pasta and serve topped with shaved Parmesan.

Enjoy!

I recently attended a bring-a-dish dinner party to farewell a friend from town who happens to be a vegetarian. I was on salad duties and decided to whip up a Pumpkin and Risoni salad which is a personal favourite of mine. It’s light, fresh and delicious. This dish is perfect for a dinner party, BBQ or to be served with grilled fish or chicken. The lemon sings through and compliments the pepperiness of the rocket and the acidic bite from the tomatoes; while the creamy pumpkin and risoni balance the dish.

Ingredients

500g risoni
700g butternut pumpkin – peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes – quartered
200g baby rocket
1 large lemon
1/4 cup of olive oil
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees and a line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Par-cook pumpkin in a lare saucepan of boiling water, drain and place on a lined baking tray.
Coat lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper, place in the middle of the oven and bake 20-30 minutes or until golden.
Meanwhile, cook risoni in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 8 minutes or until cooked through as per packet instructions. Drain and cool.
Using a peeler, peel the rind from the lemon and finely slice. Juice the lemon and reserve.
Add pumpkin, tomato, rocket, lemon rind, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to risoni, toss until well combined and serve.

Enjoy!