Vegetarian Rocket and Walnut Pesto Pasta Salad

As part of trying to plan and control what I (and Carlos) eat for lunches, I made a pasta salad today. There is enough for about 6 meals, which means I don't need to worry about lunch until Thursday.

In the fridge I had a large amount of rocket wilting in a container. I had bought a 350gram bag at Costco for $4.99. I don't really remember why I bought it. I think I had plans of a frittata and never got around to it.

The rocket needed to be used, so I decided to make a large amount of rocket pesto for a pasta and bean salad. Unfortunately I had forgotten that I had run out of cashews. Fortunately I remembered that I had half a bag of walnuts in the pantry. So into the food processor went about 200 grams of rocket, 150 grams of walnuts and about 3 tablespoons of grated Pecorino Remano cheese. While processing the rocket mix I added about 3/4 cup of olive oil, drizzled in slowly.

I cooked the pasta until it was still a touch firm. I have read that serving pasta still a bit firm actually lowers the glycemic load as it is broken down more slowly in the small intestine. It's also better to choose a wholemeal pasta rather than the regular sort. I used to buy my wholemeal pasta at Aldi stores, it's a certified organic pasta and it has always cooked well and isn't clumpy. It's also possible to find low GI gluten-free pasta at Coles, according to this news feed. It's apparently their own brand called "Coles Simply Gluten Free" range, and it has the GI symbol on the packet.

I know that pasta is not the greatest carb to be eating, but I really need to use up the carbs in my pantry over the next six months so that in six months time there wont be any sign of such food in the house, so I figure if I make a pasta salad for lunch one week out of four it will be a good way to use it up. It's also a good idea if you're going to eat pasta to have it earlier in the day, that way the big processing done by the intestines is at a peak time of activity (post-lunch), and it's a good thing to plan dinners with that carb-hit at midday in mind, making sure dinner is a half protein and half vegetable mix.

* Updated edit - Reading through The Low GI Diet I have a revised attitude towards pasta. It is a good carbohydrate as long as it is eaten in proper portion sizes alongside lots of vegetables.

Recipe

Ingredients

200 grams of rocket
150 grams of walnuts
3 tablespoons of grated Pecorino Romano cheese
3/4 cup of olive oil
250 grams of wholemeal pasta spirals
1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
100 grams feta cheese, sliced into small pieces
half a salad onion, chopped finely
Juice of 3 lemons
50 grams of rocket, extra

Method

Cook pasta until just al dente (still firm but cooked). Drain and rinse under cold water to stop it from cooking any further. When cool, drain and place in a large bowl or container. Add to this the extra 50 grams of rocket.

Place rocket, walnuts, and pecorino cheese in a food processor, processing while adding the olive oil in a thin stream. Blend until it looks like a green, breadcrumby mess. Place pesto mix on top of cooked pasta and gently stir through using a spatula.

Drain and rinse the cannellini beans in a sieve, and squeeze the lemon juice over the beans. This helps neutralise the canned flavour that they can get and will compliment the rocket flavour. Add to the pasta mix.

Chop half a white salad onion into small pieces and add to the pasta, along side the chopped feta cheese. mix gently though.

Store salad in the fridge for 2-3 days, helping yourself to lunch!

Notes

The walnuts complemented the peppery-ness of the rocket so well, it's even better than cashews. I will most definitely be remembering this flavour combination for future salads. The addition of cannellini beans will lower the glycemic load a touch, as will the presence of lemon juice. I hope this salad will last 3 days in the fridge, and will update this post with notes on how it goes. I suspect that the flavours will also have a chance to intensify the longer the salad sits, but I'm not be keen on leaving it in the fridge for more than 2 or 3 days.

PS I have managed to budget for a new digital camera which I will be picking up later this week. Prepare for more detailed photos without lines across them!

Update: Monday Lunch Notes

This did get better as it sat in the fridge, although it was a little drier than yesterday. The flavours aren't too changed from yesterday's tasting, but the onion has crisped up and is more noticeable, giving that fresh pop in the mouth every now and then. The pasta stayed firm but the fresh rocket leaves had wilted a little bit. They still taste good, but as an aesthetic they are a pretty poor show. Also good to note is that the nuts in the pesto did intensify in flavour, and along side the romano cheese and olive oil gave a really lovely mouth-feel to the dish - all those fats, of course! I mention this because I find that foods with a satisfying mouth-feel are more likely to stave off snacking once I've had my fill. Other foods with different mouth-feel can trigger a binge (think pretzels, potato chips, corn chips, bread), so it's good to be aware of those things and focus on foods that satisfy without over-eating.