Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend and are feeling good as we get into a new week. I don’t know about you, but I find that once spring hits, I start cramming my schedule with an ungodly amount of events, catch-ups, and other busy-ness. This makes easy weeknight dinners especially appealing.

With Earth Day coming up later this month, April is a great time to look at some different plant-based recipes, whether you’re a longtime vegetarian, a Meatless Monday newbie, or even a curious carnivore. I’ve been playing around with black bean pasta lately after spotting some in Trader Joe’s.

I’m a big fan of the taste and love the hearty texture. The nutrition stats don’t suck either. A 200-calorie serving also provides 15 grams each of filling fiber and protein.

After trying out a few different takes, I landed on this recipe, which allows me to use not just my beloved tahini, but two other kinds of sesame as well: sesame oil and sesame seeds. Aside from being delicious and satisfying, it requires minimal fuss and hits all the right umami notes. Enjoy!

Triple-Sesame Black Bean Pasta

Ingredients:

• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• Water for boiling pasta
• 1.5 cups black bean pasta
• 1 tablespoon miso
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1-2 tablespoons water
• 1 large handful kale (optional)
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss broccoli florets with sesame oil. Roast until broccoli is crispy, about 40 minutes.
2. Bring water to a boil in large pot. Add pasta. Cook for 7-8 minutes or until al dente. Drain and set aside. Reserve some of the pasta water in the pot if desired.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together miso, tahini, nutritional yeast, and water.
4. Toss pasta with kale to wilt. Add broccoli and miso-tahini sauce. Toss to combine. Divide between two bowls. Garnish each with sesame seeds.

(serves 2—or 1, twice)