Pesto pasta with hidden veg (kids favourite)

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Recipe's preparation

Pesto pasta sauce

First, set your pasta of choice cooking on the stovetop per the packet before you begin the pesto sauce. The pasta and sauce should then be ready about the same time. See note at the end regarding adding your protein of choice and timings for this - note this recipe is for the sauce only.

Wash the mushrooms and add whole to the Thermomix bowl. Chop 5 seconds speed 5.

Scrape down sides and add remaining ingredients. Mix 2 seconds speed 5. Scrape down bowl.

Cook for 10 minutes, 100 degrees, speed 2, MC on.

Once cooked, purée 30 seconds speed 9, gradually increasing the speed from speed 5 to speed 9.

Drain cooked pasta and return to pot. Add the sauce from the Thermomix bowl and stir through.

Note: you can add your protein of choice to this recipe if you like. I usually use chicken breast and either cook the "shredded sandwich chicken" recipe on recipe community (25 minutes) or cube the chicken and cook it in an air fryer while I'm cooking the sauce (ten minutes on 180 degrees - you can then 'shred' it in the thermie 5 seconds speed 5 once cooked, if desired). Simply stir your protein through with the pasta once it's cooked. Shredded chicken seems to be better received by my son than cubed - he just eats it because there's nothing to pick out.

My four year old who is very picky with his veges, eats plates and plates of this and asks for it all the time. A real winner in our house! It does show flecks of green from the spinach but he accepts them because that's what pesto looks like already - disclaimer: might not work for every child ...