Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Peas – The Whole Meal

Pasta dish plus Italian Seasoned Pita Chips and Watermelon-Cucumber Granita

So, you found a pasta recipe you want to make for dinner. What else could you make with it? And then, how do you piece together the different courses’ ingredients, prep and cooking times?

I‘m going to take the guesswork out of this equation for you. Below are links to each individual recipe for this whole meal. In addition to the recipes provided, I recommend a green salad. This is a great time to include healthy greens with your meal.

Following the title, “Links to Recipes,” is a section titled, “Timing of the Whole Meal.” This is where I explain how to manage your preparation and cook times for each recipe. 

Of course you can pick and choose what elements you want to make, but I’m giving you the timing of the whole meal for those who want to cook all of the recipes in one setting.

Time to make entire meal: About 8 hours and 30 minutes. However, that’s including time for the Granita to freeze. Let’s say you made the Granita in the morning. You would need about 1 hour 15 minutes to make the rest of the meal plus serve the Granita.

Timing of the Whole Meal:

1. Start with the Watermelon-Cucumber Granita by making it the day before or in the morning of the day you plan to eat it. It comes together very fast, but you need a few hours to scrape the top to get the ice crystals you want. This process isn’t hard, but it takes time to let it freeze, scrape, freeze, scrape. You also want additional time to make sure that it’s completely frozen (about 8 hours). Now that your dessert is complete, it allows for you to concentrate on the rest of the meal.
2. As a recommended option, now make your green salad, cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
3. Next, in a large pot, begin to heat your water (minimum 5 quarts) for the pasta. While you wait for the water to boil, start your pita chips. Once the water is boiling, put your pasta into the pot to cook (according to package directions), stirring occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking to each other and to the bottom of the pot. If the pasta is finished before you are ready to mix together the other components of this dish, just drain water, give it a quick rinse with cold water and then set it aside in the colander. (So you can use the pot.)
4. Once the pasta is cooking and pita chips are in the oven, start prepping the rest of the pasta dish. Measure your sun-dried tomatoes and chop them if needed. Measure out your peas. Grate the cheese and measure. Prep your garlic cloves and continue to measure other ingredients, like sun-dried tomatoes’ oil, Italian seasoning and salt. Your pita chips should be done before your pasta, so be sure to keep an eye on your pita chips as well!
5. Once the pita chips are cooked, remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Next, place them into a bowl, lined with a clean cloth or napkin, and then wrap to keep them warm.
6. Once your pasta is cooked and drained, heat your oil in the pot and start warming up the sun-dried tomatoes. Continue to add ingredients by following the Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Peas recipe. This part should take about 10 minutes. Once done, you are ready to serve your meal! Enjoy!