Whole Wheat Penne w/ Edamame, Portobellos and Slow-roasted Tomatoes

About 1 cup shelled fresh or frozen (unthawed) edamame (soy beans)
2 cups/8oz dried whole wheat penne
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large portobello mushroom caps, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
2tbsp dry white wine or water
2/3 cup sliced slow roasted or sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh basil, minced
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Pinch of dried red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup Edamame Pesto (see below)
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan
Basil sprigs optional for garnish.

Bring a large pot of water to boil over a high heat. Add the edamame and cook till tender 4-5 min. Drain in a strainer transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Let the water return to a boil, add the penne and cook according to the packet directions.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 min. Add the garlic and wine, and stir to combine. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to medium low and cook till the mushrooms are tender, about 5 min.
Add the edamame tomatoes, basil, thyme, and pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper and cook till warmed through, about 3 min.
Drain the penne setting aside a cup of the cooking water. Return the penne to the pot add 1/2 cup of the edamame pesto and stir to combine. If the pasta is too dry add 1/3 cup or more of the reserved cooking liquid.
Add the mushroom mixture to the pot with the pasta and stir to combine.Taste for seasoning adding more edamame pesto, salt, pepper, or cooking liquid if needed.
Sprinkle with parmesan to serve.

Edamame Pesto
3/4 cup shelled, fresh or frozen (unthawed) edamame (soy beans)
1 clove garlic
3tbsp pine nuts
1/2 cup packed flat leaf parsley leaves
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the edamame and cook til tender, 4-5 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool completely.
Place in a food processor with garlic, pine nuts and parsley, process till coarsely pureed, stopping to scrape down the side of the bowl once or twice.
Add the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Process to combine about 30 seconds. This can be refrigerated, covered for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.


I haven’t ever used fresh (frozen) soy beans before, so I thought I’d give this a try. I found it in the book Food to Live By .

Turns out I like soy beans, a lot! They’re really tasty, kind of like peas, but with more of a bean solidity. I think they would be nice in most salads, or vegetable soups and stews. They are also much easier to find these days, my local store has them in the frozen veg section.

They didn’t have any portobellos this week, so I just used regular large mushrooms. I was afraid that it would leave this a little lacking in flavor, but it really wasn’t a problem at all. The edamame pesto was really good, and actually tasted just like regular pesto.

I picked this mostly because it sounded so healthy and diet conscious, but actually it was just really good. I used sun dried tomatoes instead of slow roasted. The tomatoes and the extra soy beans along with the fresh basil made this very summer-y feeling. Very Very Tasty, I was impressed.