Presto! Pesto!

So perhaps the post is a little misleading.  The pesto isn't exactly super quick.  But it rhymes nicely with presto!  We adapted this recipe from Oh My Veggies Mustard Green Pesto Pasta with Chickpeas and Crispy Panko Breadcrumbs.  The recipe is delicious if you follow it as written, but we had a surplus of swiss chard and broccoli rabe from our weekly CSA delivery so we altered it slightly.  Instead of mustard greens, we made the pesto with the chard.  Not as spicy as the mustard greens, but the chard made a beautiful, vibrant pesto.  We also substituted the broccoli rabe for the chickpeas.  We sauteed the broccoli rabe for a couple minutes with a splash of water and then tossed the cooked pasta with the pesto and the broccoli rabe.  Although the whole foods, plant based diet we are following does not advise olive oil or butter, we did use both of those items in this recipe.  So if our cholesterol labs don't show improvement in one month, perhaps we will know why!!  The butter does make the toasted panko extra delicious.. We put the mixed pasta in a casserole dish and topped it with toasted panko and baked for about 10 minutes in a 400℉ oven.  I think we could probably skip the toasted panko next time.  As buttery delicious as panko is, it just didn't add a lot of crunch to the dish.  But the fresh tomatoes we topped the pasta with are a necessity!  The tomatoes add so much flavor and color.  And it's summer, tomatoes are perfectly in season.