Penne with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Pine Nuts

A few weeks ago I went to my friend’s bridal shower and posted about my gift wrapping (here) and outfit (here). Along with the invitation for the bridal shower came a little card asking that guests bring a recipe to share with the bride. I have done this before at other bridal showers and I love this idea. Everyone can always use more recipes, even if you are already a good cook, it’s always nice to get even more ideas and things to try. I shared with her a recipe for penne with sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts. My mom has been making this for years and shared it with me, but she doesn’t remember where she got it from originally! I tried to find the original source online, but no luck. I recently made the dish so below is a picture as well!

The ingredients are:

• 1/2lb penne
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 6 oz. sun-dried tomatoes, drained & chopped into a pesto
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Note: I used less than 6 oz. of sun-dried tomatoes and I didn’t use cheese.

The penne is cooked first, while the pine nuts and garlic are cooked on low with the olive oil in a large skillet. After a few minutes, the sun-dried tomato pesto, vinegar and parsley are stirred in with the pine nuts. The pasta is drained and added to the tomato mixture and cooked on medium until the water (reserved water) is almost all absorbed. If you are adding the cheese, it would be added in last.

If you want more information or more step-by-step directions on exactly how I cooked it, let me know!