Catalina Yoga Retreat Part II

Friday: Lunch

Basil-Mint Pesto Pasta Salad with French Green Beans

This lunch was a great start to the retreat because it's impressive and it was easy to throw together after a long and exhausting 36 hours between all my prep and travel. 

 

    I found this great organic pasta made from farro. Farro is an Italian grain, compatible to barley, that gives the pasta a similar taste and texture similar to whole wheat. The Italians believe that a pasta should mimic the vegetables it's being tossed with, so I found a shape that closely resembled green beans. If you want to use different vegetables, like spinach and cherry tomatoes for instance, than you might want to use a different pasta shape. This is a great recipe to play with. Everything was tossed in a fresh mint and basil pesto, and I topped this dish with a sprinkle of pine nuts, a healthy serving of avocado, and a pinch of micro basil greens. The micro greens were inspired by Heidi Swanson, who adds sprouts to her cold pasta salads. I also use lemon zest because Giada says it makes everything better.

Our campsite. Photo by: Ramin Sharifi

Basil-Mint Pesto Pasta Salad 

with French Green Beans

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb Pasta
• 1/4-1/2 lb Green Beans
• 1 1/2 cup packed fresh mint
• 1 cup packed fresh basil
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup olive oil (or until you get a texture you prefer)
• 4 tbsp. grated parmesan* cheese
• 1 lemon, juiced (plus a little zest)
• salt
•  pepper

 

Toppings:

Avocado
Micro greens
Pine Nuts

*NOTE: the Catalina retreat was completely vegan so I used a vegan parmesan. I recommend however, if you can tolerate lactose, to use the real stuff from Parma.


step 1.
   Boil your pasta until it is al dente. Immediately drop into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Then let dry on a cookie sheet. You can toss lightly in oil and store this pasta in the fridge until you're ready to mix and serve.

step 2.
   Blanch the string beans. French beans are thinner than the "american" string beans and I like them better in this dish. You only need to boil them about 3-5 minutes and then transfer them to an ice bath also. This method is known as blanching.

step 3.
   Prepare your pesto. Puree mint, basil, garlic and lemon in food processor. Remove and mix in olive oil and cheese by hand. Salt and pepper to taste.

step 4.
   I finished steps 1 through 3 in San Diego and the last step was just to toss everything together and plate. I gave everyone a few slices of avocado, some pine nuts, and a pinch of micro greens.


...and then I took a nap in my tent until yoga time.