5 Ingredient Pasta Dish

Good evening my dears.  A little while ago, a challenge was thrown out there on forums of the blogger network 20sb. Can you make a pasta dish with just five ingredients, including the pasta? 

Challenge accepted. 

I love pasta. It is one of those foods that I would happily eat every day.  

There are SO MANY THINGS you can do with it.  I am fan of spaghetti and meatballs as much as the next gal, but I also love making up sauces, trying out all different kinds of noodles, and seeing just how many ways I can incorporate it into a meal.

One of my absolute favorite recipes is an avocado, basil, bacon, and parmesan pasta.  But that requires more than five ingredients.  With that recipe in mind, I made a pared down version for one that happened to be vegan and gluten free. Bonus! In my house, if you can make something vegan, gluten free, AND delicious, well you should run for office because clearly you are magic.

What I'm trying to say is that I'm a wizard.  Sometimes.

Anyway, here are my five ingredients (not counting water and salt as per the rules, though salt is pictured):

+A couple ounces of brown rice noodles (I used rotini)

+1 ripe medium sized avocado

+A sprinkle (or two) of coarse black pepper and sea salt

+A generous splash of lemon juice

+A spoonful (or two) of basil pesto

I didn't measure anything, which I realize is not very helpful but I sort of eyeballed the ingredients and tasted as I went.  Listen, if you came here for precision and magazine-ready food photos, you came to the wrong blog, pal.  

 Boil the water per package directions, and pour in what you would consider a serving size of noodles.  As brown rice pasta is pretty sturdy, it needs to boil for about 11 minutes to be al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, slice open the avocado, remove the stone, and cut into large chunks.  Scoop out the avocado into a small bowl, add the salt, pepper, lemon juice, and pesto and toss together.

Drain the pasta, pour into your dish and top with the avocado mixture.

Mix it with your fork and ENJOY. 

THAT'S IT. In fifteen minutes you have a super delicious and filling meal. Obviously you could jazz it up with a sprinkle of fresh parmesan or some bacon but it tastes excellent as is. The lemon juice adds a brilliant zing that plays well off the smooth flavor of the pesto.

I feel for judging purposes I should clarify: I never salt the water I boil pasta in so I didn't feel bad for adding it to my topping. Secondly, using pre-made basil pesto is probably cheating a little but it came in one jar and I regret nothing. 

So, what do you think, would you try this recipe? Are there any pasta recipes you're fond of that I should try? Let me know in the comments. :)