Jalapeno Cilantro Pesto Udon Noodles

Ingredients

Jalapeño Cilantro Pesto:
2 cups cilantro, packed
1 jalapeño, chopped (deseed if you want a milder pesto)
¼ cup grapeseed oil
¼ pecans, chopped (you can sub walnuts or almonds)
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup baby spinach (optional)
12 basil leaves (optional)
2-4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Pasta:
2 bundles within 1 package of Udon Noodles (spaghetti and fettuccine noodles work too)
½ package of extra firm Tofu, drained, cut into cubes, salt and peppered
1 cup shelled edamame (I used frozen edamame)
30 cherry tomatoes, halved
8 tablespoons parmesan cheese
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Jalapeno Cilantro Pesto:

You can make the pesto a few days before hand, in fact, it tastes better if you do.

Blend all the pesto ingredients in a food processor until it looks like pesto. Add any additional ingredients to taste. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Pasta:

Put the frozen edamame onto a plate and set aside to allow to thaw.
Bring a big pot of boiling water to a boil.

While the water is heating up, heat a large pan/skillet over medium high heat. Add the tofu and brown it on all sides.Once it’s browned on all sides, set aside on a plate.

Once the water comes to a boil, add the udon noodles. After 3 minutes in the boiling water, they should be almost done. Add the edamame to the noodles and cook for an additional minute.

Check the noodles, they should be al dente, Before pouring the noodles and edamame into a colander, reserve approx 1 cup of the pasta water.
After you’ve drained the noodles and edamame, add them back into the pasta pot. Now add about a ½ of the pesto mixture, the tomatoes, and approx 4 tablespoons of parmesan. Mix everything together until the pasta is well coated with the pesto, adding the reserved pasta water, a little at a time, to make a silky pesto sauce and prevent the pasta from drying out. Continue to add more pesto, parmesan cheese, and reserved pasta water, until you reach the sauce consistency you enjoy.
Then, taste the noodles and adjust the seasonings. If you feel the pasta needs salt, try adding a splash of lemon juice first to make the ingredients pop. If you still feel like the pasta needs salt and pepper, add at this time.

Last, add the tofu to the pasta and gently combine until every is well coated. Serve the pasta in bowls adding additional cilantro and cheese to your liking.
Enjoy!

Notes
The Udon Noodles normally come in 3 bundles, in one package. I used 2 out of 3 of the bundles.

I was able to brown the tofu without adding additional oil because I used a nonstick pan. If you don’t have a nonstick pan, you may want add some oil to prevent the tofu from sticking.

I used about ¾ of the pesto mixture. I froze the rest. Pesto freezes really well if you want to add it to another meal later on.

You do not need to purchase basil and spinach for this recipe. I had some laying around so I used it up, the recipe still tastes delicious without it.

From shockmunch.com