Meat Free Monday.

Well since I am a meat free everyday person, not eating meat has become very easy for me, it is an undemanding task to cook dinner each night and think of creative ways to spice my meals up without using meat. But I can imagine for those of you who are keen to do your bit helping the environment and the animals by doing Meat Free Mondays, may not find it as easy. So never fear, I am here to save your Monday!!! Here is an absolutely delicious, quick and easy pasta dish. Mmmmhh yum. Enjoy! G :)

Ingredients

100g cooked chestnuts

Handful of each - basil, parsley and mint

50g parmesan, grated

2 garlic cloves

500g dried pasta

3 tbsp olive oil

250g of mixed mushrooms, quartered

Method

1.Put the chestnuts in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Throw in the herbs, parmesan and garlic, then pulse again until chopped (not too finely). Pour in 2 tablespoons olive oil, mix together and season to taste.

2.Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the mushrooms with some seasoning for 6-8 mins until tender and starting to brown.

3.When the pasta is cooked, drain it, return to the pan, then stir through the pesto and the mushrooms. Serve with some extra Parmesan on top.

(Roasting fresh chestnuts for this recipe, Apitiet either buy a pack of vacuum-packed ready-cooked chestnuts, or roast them yourself. Cut a small cross in each whole chestnut and roast at 180C for 30 mins. Remove and allow to cool slightly before crushing with the flat side of a knife.)

(You can also add any other veggies that you may enjoy to make it more interesting (add when cooking the mushrooms) like courgettes, baby broccoli, baby tomatoes, peas, asparagus ect. Even add a few big dollops of cream to make the dish more rich and indulgent.)

Bon Appétit.