Spinach and Pesto Pasta

Hi, I found this recipe in 'Feed me Vegan by Lucy Watson' this book was lent to me by a lady at church and it was very nice. We were planning to make this for a guest when they came over but we had to cancel although this meant that myself, dad and my sister got to have them as well not just mum. Hope you enjoy....

Dietary Info:
- Contains Gluten {In the pasta, you can but gluten free pasta though}
- Contains Nuts {Pesto-pine nuts}
- Dairy-Free {I used normal Parmesan but you can buy vegan cheese}
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Suitable for Vegans

Serves 2 {If you are only having the pasta, but we made it serve 4 by having it with chicken kieves, no longer Vegan, but you can have it with your choice of accompaniment or double it to make it serve 4}

Ingredients:
- 180g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1tsp dried oregano {I used dried mixed herbs}
- 250g rigatoni pasta
- A good pinch of grated nutmeg {This added such a nice flavour to the pasta and I preferred it with it than without}
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper {It can be any salt or any black pepper} {Add as much as you want}

For the spinach and pesto sauce:
- 30g pine nuts {I only ended up using 15g because the other half saved for topping. My dad ate them while I was out at school and there wasn't time to make more as we only realised right at the end}
- 150g of baby spinach
- 30g basil leaves {I used 1tbsp dried basil}
- 1 garlic clove, crushed {I finely chopped it}
- 80ml extra virgin olive oil
- 30g of vegan Parmesan cheese, grated {any cheese will do}
- 2tbsp single soya cream {As I'm not vegan , I just used normal single cream}

Method:
1: Preheat the oven to 160℃/140℃ fan/325℉/Gas 3 and line a small baking tray with grease proof paper. Lay the tomatoes cut-side up on the prepared baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with oregano {Or mixed dried herbs}. Season with salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for 1+1/4 hours {Mine needed about 35mins/around half an hour}.

2: Meanwhile, to make the pesto sauce, put the pine nuts in a small pan over a medium heat and cook for 1-2 minutes until golden, shaking the pan frequently. Remove from the pan. Put the spinach, basil, garlic and oil into a blender or food processor. Add half the pine nuts and half the grated Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper, and blend until smooth.

3: When the tomatoes are cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool. Cook the Rigatoni in boiling salted water according the the packets instructions, until al dente*. Drain in a colander.

4: Meanwhile, put the pesto in a large non-stick frying pan and bring to a simmer. Add the soya cream, salt and pepper, and stir well {Or whatever type of cream you choose to use}. Add the rigatoni to the pan with the sauce. Toss well the coat the pasta. Add half the cherry tomatoes to the sauce, stir well and serve in bowls {I used plates} topped with the remaining parmesan cheese, pine nuts {If dad hasn't eaten them} and cherry tomatoes plus the grated nutmeg.


*In cooking, al dente describes pasta or rice that is cooked to be firm to the bite. The etymology is Italian "to the tooth". In contemporary Italian cooking, the term identifies the ideal consistency for pasta and involves a brief cooking time. Molto al dente is the culinary term for slightly undercooked pasta.{From- Wikipedia}