Pasta salad with homemade red pesto and smoked tofu

Cook the rice penne in a large pot of salted water until very soft (don’t leave them al dente). Drain, reserving some of the cooking water.

Prepare the pesto: blend all the pesto ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Add a little pasta cooking water if needed to loosen the sauce.

In a large salad bowl, mix the cooled pasta with the cherry tomatoes, red onion, smoked tofu, roasted peppers, and arugula. Stir in the pesto and mix well.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge. This salad gets even better after a day — perfect for batch cooking or packed lunches.