Whole grain pasta with Spinach pesto

I have to apologize for the poor quality of the picture. But let that not deter you from trying this awesome spinach pesto recipe. The good thing is I did not use much oil and neither did I use any cheese. So it is perfect for a vegan meal and on top of it the whole dish comes together in about 15 - 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

- 4-5 cup of whole wheat pasta (Penne or shell should work)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp of pine nuts and walnuts for garnish

For Pesto
- 1 cup spinach (I used baby spinach)
- 1/2 cup basil leaves
- 1/3 cup roasted walnuts
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 2-3 sundried tomatoes in oil (1 used about 2 tsp of oil that comes with the tomato)
- 1 onion chopped and sauted to golden brown.
- garlic (if you like)

1. Cook your pasta as per the instruction in your package. Toss the pasta with the olive oil. Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water from the pasta.
2. Grind the ingredients for the pesto to a smooth paste. If you need to use the cooking water for the pasta.
3. In a big saute pan pour add the pasta and the pesto sauce and toss it around. If you feel it is too dry then add the reserved cooking water from the pasta. Mix them sauce until the pasta is well coated.
4. Sprinkle the pasta with the pine nuts and walnuts. This adds a crunch to the pasta.

Optionality serve it with some fresh grated parmesan cheese.