One of the very first vegan recipes I really gravitated to, and started making regularly, was from a cookbook by master chef Robin Robertson.  It was for a macaroni salad, simple enough for a neophyte plant-based chef, but really popping with flavour.  I ate it for lunch, I ate it for dinner, I ate it as a snack, and I may have even eaten it for a breakfast a couple of times.

This week I was really craving that good old classic Robin Robertson macaroni salad recipe again, but alas the grocery store was out of vegan mayo because…well I don’t why – I suppose people are hoarding vegan mayo as well for some reason.  But of course the great thing about a macaroni salad is that it can easily be added to and modified with your own unique touches.  I did have a bit of mayo left, and it ended up being the perfect amount to augment this spinach and sun-dried tomato pesto.

You can also add additional elements to this recipe to make it more substantial.  I added Tofurky brands’ Sesame Garlic Plant Based Chick’n and it was a wonderful addition, but tofu or tempeh would also work well.

Ingredients (makes 4 to 5 servings):
454g box of elbow noodles
2 cups of spinach
1/3 cup of sun-dried tomatoes, with oil
1/2 cup of vegan mayonnaise (I used Vegenaise)
1 tsp of salt
1/4 cup of water

Directions:
1.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and add the 454g of elbow noodles. Cook the pasta until al dente (8-10 minutes usually)
2.  In a blender or food processor, add the 2 cups of spinach, 1/3 cup fo sun-dried tomatoes with oil, 1/2 cup of mayo, 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 cup of water and blend until smooth.
3.  Drain the pasta, and rinse under cold water until cool.
4.  In large bowl, mix the noodles with the pesto and serve!