Basil Pesto and Zucchini Pasta

I am a meat eater. That might even be an understatement. Aside from the desserts on this blog, you’d notice that there is a meat component to each dish; and that’s the way it will probably always be. So when I invited my girl friend over the other night for dinner and found out that she was vegetarian now – I blanked. What was I going to make her? I mean I eat chicken on the days I feel like I’ve been eating too much red meat, or maybe a salad but I couldn’t make just a salad, could I? I started bouncing ideas, what can I make with a veggie base, which ended up being harder than I had imagined, considering I normally use veggies on the side of a dish; as an afterthought. 

And then I remembered, the train ride I took with some friends where we might have had a little too much wine to drink, and I might have impulse ordered some things from Amazon on my phone. Yes, possibly one of the best tipsy decisions I’ve ever made – the Spiralizer. Now, first and foremost, I am not saying, nor will I ever say that this is a replacement for true authentic pasta. That would be an insult to Italian cuisine, which is one of my all time favorites. But what I will say is that making “noodles” out of zucchini and squash, has been a very pleasant experience, one that has me convinced that if you’re trying to incorporate more veggies into your diet, this is the way to go!

Now, that plus the herb garden inspiring me from my herb garden, it was settled – we were making pesto! 

Equipment you’ll need:

• Spiralizer
• Food Processor

1. Chop the stem off of your zucchini and place it into the prongs of your spiralizer and spin out your zucchini pasta. Place in a large bowl and coat with a generous amount of salt. Allow it to sit in the bowl for 30 minutes or more to extract the moisture.  Zucchini and squash hold a lot of liquid inside, this will make your pasta soggy if you try to cook them fresh.
2. Pulse together the garlic, salt, pepper and basil leaves. Use short pulses until basil is fine.
3. Add the pine nuts and pulse again.
4. Pour it all into a bowl, then add the cheese and oil together and stir. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
5. Cook your pasta for 3 minutes and then blanch. Serve this dish with some bread. Pesto is a naturally oily sauce, and tastes delicious soaked up into some bread once you’re done! 
6. Nom!