Pasta is a great meal for a family dinner, but if you want to add a little pizazz to your regular pasta dish, then consider pesto pasta. It is basically just regular pasta but with a special pesto sauce which includes healthy ingredients such as Parmesan cheese and garlic cloves.

This is an incredibly quick and easy recipe to make, and so even the busiest families can delight in this dinner dish. You can even save the leftovers and reheat them at a later dinner date or have the children take it to school for lunches.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 225 g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 150 ml fresh vegetable stock
• 175 g asparagus, trimmed and cut into 5 cm lengths
• 300 g green or white tagliatelle
• 400 g canned artichoke hearts, drained and halved
• grissini (bread sticks) to serve
• shredded basil leaves and Parmesan shavings to garnish

Pesto

• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 15 g fresh basil leaves, washed
• 6 tbsp low fat natural fromage frais
• 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

1. Place the mushrooms in a pan with the stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Bring a small pan of water to the boil and cook the asparagus for 3 to 4 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.
3. Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the tagliatelle according to the instructions on the packet. Drain, return to the pan and keep warm.
4. Make the pesto. Place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and process for a few seconds until smooth. Alternatively, finely chop the basil and mix all the ingredients together.
5. Add the mushrooms, asparagus and artichoke hearts to the pasta and cook, stirring, over a low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the heat, mix with the pesto and transfer to a warm bowl. Garnish with shredded basil leaves and Parmesan shavings and serve with Grissini if wished.

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