Quick 15 Minute Blue Cheese and Pesto Pasta

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Quick 15 Minute Blue Cheese and Pesto Pasta

I love to cook and I cook a lot. Yet, if you look through my recipes it would seem that I mostly make breakfasts or bake something. Believe me, I don't survive on pancakes, waffles, and cookies only (although I sometimes wish I did. Most of my recipes are really no-recipes: simple roasted chicken, stuffed peppers, lentil soup. They are so easy that I feel like I'd be cheating if I posted them on my website.  I haven't been cooking much over the past nine months. First I was really sick in the beginning of my pregnancy. Then I was really tired in the middle of my pregnancy. And then I spent almost two months at the hospital with the baby. Once she improved significantly and I realized that it was only a matter of days before we were discharged home, I started worrying about food. Will I be able to cook? What will I be eating? How will I handle life at home with the baby? I googled how to cook with a baby, but didn't find a lot of information. This is when I realized that my "no-recipe recipes" are actually something that could be helpful for a new mom. So, I'm starting a new series on my blog for "mom recipes" that are easy and quick. At least I hope it'll be a series because I still will need to photograph the food and I don't know if I'm going to have time. I'll start this with a really quick pasta dish. The longest step in the recipe is boiling water for pasta and actually cooking pasta. The rest is super easy, quick, and requires very few bowls, so cleanup is a breeze as well. While pasta is cooking, throw a handful of fresh herbs (I made this with dill and parsley and I'm sure it'll be delicious with basil or cilantro too into a mini food processor, add another handful of pecans (or use some other nuts like walnuts or hazelnuts, one garlic clove, a few glugs of olive oil and a big pinch of salt. Process until it's finely chopped, but don't make it too smooth. You want some texture in this recipe. Once pasta is cooked, drain it reserving a cup of cooking water. Add pesto and blue cheese to pasta and mix. Pasta cooking water melts the cheese and coats pasta, making it creamier. I usually reserve a cup but don't add it all. I add a few pours at a time and mix until I see that the pasta glistens and no longer dry. Serve with more olive oil or red chili flakes and some parmesan cheese. Quick 15 Minute Blue Cheese and Pesto Pasta Serves 2 Pasta - 6 oz Dill or Parsley - 1/2 cup Pecans or Walnuts - 1/2 cup Olive oil - 2 tablespoons Salt - big pinch Garlic - 1 clove Blue cheese, crumbled - 1/2 cup * Bring a big pot of salted water to boil and start cooking pasta. * While pasta is cooking, combine your herbs, nuts, garlic, olive oil and salt in a food processor and process until finely chopped but there's still some texture. * Drain cooked pasta reserving about a cup of cooking water. * Return pasta to the pot, add pesto and crumbled blue cheese and mix. * Add reserved pasta water a little bit at a time and mix until everything is fully coated and a bit creamy. Most likely you'll only need about half a cup of liquid. * Serve with more olive oil, pepper and grated parmesan cheese.