Chipotle Pesto Pasta
I got this from a member of the SA forums and made it a while ago, and it’s a really tasty fusion of Mexican and Italian ingredients. Apologies to Brits for the measurements being in cups, but there’s a link to a measurement conversion calculator in the sidebar if you don’t have the right measuring equipment. Also, I didn’t take these photos so don’t make jokes about what my dinner plates look like 
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Enough angel hair pasta (alternatively: spaghetti or linguine) for 4 people
1/2 7oz can of ‘chipotle in adobo’ (smoked chipotle chillies in smokey BBQ sauce) - might be tricky to find in the UK, but I the stuff I got was made by Cool Chile Co and found in Sainsburys in the ‘world food’ section (although you can order from the CCC website as well). It’s a bit expensive but lasts a while.
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups of basil and coriander (cilantro)
3/4 cup of pine nuts
1-1/2 tablespoons of salt
1/2 jar of sliced sundried tomatoes
170g Cotija cheese (if you can’t find this in the UK (I couldn’t), feta is a good alternative, but you’ll want to use a bit less since feta is very salty)
4 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
1 fairly large bag of baby spinach (may seem like too much but it shrinks a LOT when cooked)
Preparation:
1. Put the pine nuts, basil and most of the coriander (the remainder should be chopped) in a large food processor and process until it looks like pesto:
2. Add the chipotle peppers (with sauce), sundried tomatoes, olive oil, parmesan, and salt and process until mixed and set to one side:
3. Break up the cheese into chunks with your hands so it fits in the food processor, and process until it looks like this:
4. In a large frying pan, pour about 1/4 cup of water and around three large spoonfuls of pesto (around half of what you have*). With the heat on low, add a full bag of fresh baby spinach and stir. Sprinkle about a handful of the cotija in the pan. Cover and allow the spinach to steam:
5. Cook your pasta for about 3 minutes, and drain. Add the pesto/spinach/cheese mixture to the pasta and stir well.
6. Garnish with chopped tomatoes, the chopped coriander, and the remaining cotija cheese. Serve with crusty bread and salad.
Apparently this dish was originally made with chicken and this version is just the vegetarian way of doing it. If you want to make it with chicken, start by sauteing chopped chicken breast prior to steaming the spinach.
* Leave the rest of the pesto to cool, and then put in a ziplock bag in the freezer for later use. I originally made this recipe in February and only recently defrosted the rest of the pesto, and it still tastes great.