Pico de Gallo Pasta (Vegan)

Hello Friends!  School work is keeping me busy and I don’t have much time to play with my food these days.  But I whipped this together the other day and it was so quick and easy I thought I could share it, especially with the arrival of warmer weather.  It’s a perfect pasta dish for picnics and cookouts.  And it comes together in a flash.  You can get everything chopped up while you are waiting for your water to boil and your pasta is cooking.  You can even go simpler by purchasing ready-made pico de gallo.  It’s a little too spicy for one of my kids so I decided on the DIY variety.

You can use any shape pasta you want.  I decided to go with shell pasta this time.  I think rotini or bow-tie pasta would also be excellent choices. If you want to DIY, then you’ll need onions, green onion, tomatoes, jalapeno, fresh cilantro, corn, lime juice and olive  oil. Optional extras are Parmesan cheese, avocado and mango.

I didn’t do a lot of measuring, so my amounts are “about,” but you can adjust to your own liking.  I seeded my jalapenos, but if you like it spicy you may want to throw the seeds in, or use more.

I used frozen corn and added it to my pasta during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Then stir it all together.  I like to serve it with some Parmesan cheese (vegan) and sliced avocado.  Diced mango also goes well with it.  (If you purchase ready-made pico, you might be able to find a variety that has mango in it…my grocery store carries it and I really like it, but it is a little bit spicier.)

It really is easy to throw together and doesn’t require a lot of fanfare, so I’ll get right to the specifics…  If you try it, leave a comment. If you put it on Instagram you can tag me @debbiesfoodsmarts and use the hashtag #debbiesfoodsmarts.

Ingredients:

• 16-ounce package pasta (I used shells, rotini and bow-tie also good choices)
• 1/2-3/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
• 1 bunch (was about 6) green onions, finely chopped
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
• 7 medium-sized roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 cup corn (I used frozen, canned okay too)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
• 1/4  cup olive oil
• salt and pepper, optional
• Parmesan cheese, vegan, optional
• sliced avocado, optional
• diced mango, optional

Directions:

1. Put a large pot of hot water on the stove to boil, cover. (Using hot water and covering it helps it to boil faster.)
2. Add pasta once it begins to boil and cook according to package directions.
3. Chop your vegetables (onions, green onions, jalapenos, tomatoes, cilantro).
4. Stir all of your veggies and cilantro together in a big bowl and add lime juice and olive oil.  Add salt and pepper if you need it, I didn’t.
5. During last 5 minutes off cooking, add frozen corn. (not necessary if you are using canned, just add it to the rest of the veggies)
6. Drain and rinse pasta under cold water.  You don’t need the pasta to be hot.  I prefer to eat this at room temperature or out of the fridge.
7. Once the pasta is cool, add it to the tomato mixture and mix well.
8. Serving suggestions: top with Parmesan cheese, sliced avocado and/or diced mango
9. I got approximately 8 servings out of this one.