Penne with parsley, basil & almond pesto and other green stuff

They say the toughest part about running a marathon is getting enough sugar in your system to fuel you through 26.2 miles without flagging down an ambulance. I don’t entirely disagree but I would certainly put forward an argument for getting off the sofa on a blustery Sunday to do a long training run as a close second. And in an even closer third place position I would say losing your  social life both because you don’t have the energy and because you’ve bored all your friends and family by talking incessantly about books like Born to Run, chaffing and gels to the point that they’ve used your name and the word intervention together in the same sentence. My husband and I have turned into those people. Not quite as bad, I might add as those people who compete in triathlons and can add draw out conversations even further by talking about bike parts and wet suit buoyancy but bad enough. (To all my triathlon- friends, truly I’m just jealous that I can’t store a bike, you are far more interesting to talk to than I will ever be).

Of course the best part about all this nonsense running is all the calories that you burn and thus the quantity of food you can consume. When I trained for my first marathon I thought I would try to loose weight and ended up putting on a pound and not getting any faster. This time I looked more into properly fueling my run, I upped my calories by an unfathomable amount and here I am seven pounds lighter and two minutes per mile faster (that’s forty-five minutes faster on race day) and always eating.   In some ways it goes against everything I preach and thought I knew…like moderation, low-sugar and enjoying every morsel that goes in my mouth….here I am on an 18 mile run sucking/gagging on gooey gels that taste sweeter than table sugar and are 100 calories a pop with absolutely no nutritional value. To get through the rest of the day without a headache I also need to take in roughly 1200mg of sodium during my run to replace the salt that’s now clinging to my forehead in crystal form. I sort of resent taking in these undesirable, unwanted sugars and salts that we are all so quick to make the enemy but the truth is they literally fuel my run, and stop me from hitting the notorious wall as soon as most runners do. Sugars + salts +  a sedentary lifestyle = bad. Sugars + salts + highly active lifestyle = 100% necessary. You can call me Einstein.

I’m sorry, did I just spend two paragraphs boring you about running? Yea….I think I did.

So……penne!

Pasta is the ultimate runners fuel but this one is not heavily laden with calories, salts or sugar. It’s more of just a suggestion of a recipe- one my sister would describe as an: I can do that(!) recipe. It takes knowing how to cook pasta- so fill up a big pot of water so that the pasta has room to move around and cook evenly. Salt the water so that it tastes like the sea (yup, take out a spoon and taste it!), you won’t be eating all this salt but it makes a delicious broth for the pasta to cook in and to be used to finish the dish. Get your water up to a rolling boil- that’s big bubbles rumbling around in the pot, then stir in your pasta and bring it back to a little less vigorous a boil. Stir occasionally to make sure there are no pieces sticking together and then cook until the pasta is al dente (usually a minute or two less than what the box suggests). Taste it. It should not be soft and mushy, nor hard and gummy.

You can skip making the pesto and buy your own…but pesto is a great thing to know how to make because it’s such a quick sauce that you can put with more than just pasta. Think herbs, garlic, cheese, nuts oil and seasoning. A food processor is easiest but you could do this in a mortar and pestal or make a rougher version by chopping everything very finely. Then just add the veggies and/or proteins of your choice. It could not be easier.

Anyway, I’d love to stay and chat…. but I’ve got some running to do.

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Penne with parsley, basil & almond pesto

This recipe makes a lot more pesto than you will need, so store it in an airtight container in the fridge and try spreading it on chicken or fish (before or after cooking). This pasta works well hot or cold

Serves 4-6

for the pesto
1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped, stalks and all
l large bunch basil, save some little leaves for garnish, chop the remaining bunch, including delicate stalks (discard any tough ones)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
50g/1/3 cup raw almonds
1/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup chicken stock (or water)
40g/2/3 cup finely grated parmesan reggiano
1/2 tsp salt

for the penne
450g/1 lb penne pasta (or other. whole wheat is fine)
1/2 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed and discarded, the rest cut into 3-4 pieces
1 cup shelled edamame beans
2 large handfuls spinach
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, finely sliced
good olive oil

• Heat the oven to 225C/425F/Gas 7 and get a big pot of salted water on to boil. For the pesto place the roughly chopped herbs, garlic and nuts in the bowl of a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Start drizzling in the olive oil with the motor still running. Now add the chicken stock and blitz until nice and smooth.

• Add the cheese and pulse the blade a couple of times before adding the salt and pepper and tasting for seasoning. It may seem a little loose but as it sits in the fridge it will absorb the liquid. This makes more than you will need so measure out 1/2 cup and store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge.

• for the pasta Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, and during the last 2 minutes add the edamame to the pot. Meanwhile, toss the asparagus in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper- place on a baking tray and roast for 5-10 minutes (depending on thickness) until cooked through and lightly charred at the edges.

• Once the pasta is cooked, drain(reserving a little of the cooking water) and return to the pot along with the spinach, scallions, pepper, asparagus and your 1/2 cup of reserved pesto and if necessary to loosen up a bit, add some of your reserved pasta cooking water. Check the seasoning and  garnish with a few little basil leaves to serve.

Tagged as: Healthy, Pasta, penne, pesto, Recipe, running