Mango Pesto Mouth Party

Long ago in a land far away (*cough* Montreal *cough*), I enjoyed the best pasta dish I have ever had. Now, it's gonna sound weird, but I promise you, it works. It works so well that I'm shocked that no other restaurants discovered this combo: mangoes, pesto, avocado, kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, and a ton of parmesan. All tossed with a notched pasta perfect for soaking up all of the wonderfulness. 

This pasta was so mind-blowing, friends, that I remembered enjoying it years later, and went so far as to google the heck out of it, as I had completely forgotten where I had gobbled it down. Well, I finally found the restaurant. Thank you, Jardin Nelson, for inventing the best pasta dish known to mankind.(Refer to the "Cartier" on page 2.) As a side note, any of you going to Montreal should definitely go to Jardin Nelson. It has a beautiful dining area outside- in a giant garden- and they have live music. And this pasta dish, so enough said.

But anyway, clearly I did not replicate this pasta dish exactly, as this is Vegan Mofo, after all. I removed all cheese from the recipe, and subbed kamut instead of pasta. 

How did it compare to the original? Oh, it was super delicious, and I will 100% be making this many times over. In fact, it was so darn tasty that I am titling it "Mango Pesto Mouth Party". The mix of salty olives, chewy and sweet sundried tomatoes, creamy avocado, tropical mango, and basil pesto will make your tongue do a happy dance.

I am also delighted to say that this recipe is boyfriend approved (who is non-veg). He said it really is an awesome combo of ingredients. Whenever I get a thumbs up from him, as he has particularly delicate tastebuds, I know it's pretty damn good.

Mango Pesto Mouth Party
Serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry kamut (see note)
• 5 cups raw spinach
• 1 mango, chunked
• 1/2 avocado, chunked
• 1/3-1/2 cup vegan pesto
• 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, julienned
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced

Directions

1. Cook the kamut in 3 cups water for 1 hr and 15 mins, or until all water is absorbed by the grain. Add in the spinach to the pot, stirring until all leaves are wilted.
2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Dig in!

Note: Any chewy grain would be a great substitute for the kamut. Farro, barley, or brown rice should work well. Kamut is actually a snazzy grain that was enjoyed in ancient Egypt. I found it in the Whole Foods bulk bins and picked up 1 lb after reading that it has 7g of protein per serving!