Sun-Dried Tomato and Bow Tie Pasta

Anti-meat pasta dish, which makes your tastebuds feel alive with the great combined flavors of sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, red pepper and pesto sauce. My husband and I came up with this recipe about two years ago playing around in the kitchen one day. Ever since then it has been our family’s favorite. Garnish each dish with red pepper or Parmesan cheese to your taste. Instead of making your own pesto you can use 1/2 bottle of pre-made pesto from the grocery store.

Original recipe makes 8 servings

Ingredients

4 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon minced pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 ounces sun-dried tomatoes
1/8 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta

Directions

Make pesto: In a small mixing bowl, combine basil, pine nuts, and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
In a small bowl, blanch sun dried tomatoes for 30 seconds in boiling water. Drain well, and slice tomatoes into small pieces.
In a large skillet over a medium heat, saute garlic in 1/8 cup olive oil. Simmer for 1 minute being very careful not to brown the garlic. Stir in the mushrooms and let them saute until tender. Add the pesto, salt, cayenne, and sun dried tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and let the mixture simmer.
Bring a large pot of salted water and pasta to a boil. Let pasta cook until al dente, drain well.
In a large mixing bowl, toss pasta and sauce until the pasta is well coated.