Hearty Zucchini Pasta with Basil Pesto

- vegetarian, gluten-free, grain-free and high in healthy fats –

Today, pressured by the vast amount of unused vegetables in my fridge (I tend to get a little too excited at the green grocer), I decided to experiment with my two favourites; zucchini and basil pesto. Whilst the finished product may look fancy and time consuming, I can assure you that this meal took me less than 20 minutes to whip together!  

Whilst this dish tastes great on its own as a main meal, it would also work well as a side to a piece of salmon or a chicken breast. Alternatively, you could also make it ahead of time and serve it cold as a salad at a dinner party.

Finally, you could easily turn this vegetarian dish in to a vegan dish by using cashew cheese instead of cottage cheese, or alternatively, you could omit the cheese all together.

Ingredients

Pesto:
- the leaves from 1 bunch of basil
- a handful of crushed walnuts
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- the juice of half a lemon
- roughly  1/8 of a cup of extra virgin olive oil
- Himalayan salt and black pepper to taste

Other Ingredients:
- 2  extra large zucchinis (about 3 cups worth)
- 2 teaspoon of olive oil
- 3 tablespoons of cottage cheese
- 1 small avocado, diced
- 4 tablespoons of crushed walnuts- to decorate

Method

To make the pesto:
1. Place the garlic, lemon juice, basil and a drizzle of the olive oil in a food processor and blend until well combined.
2. Add the walnuts and blend until the pesto reaches your desired consistency (I prefer mine slightly grainy).
3. Gradually drizzle in the rest of the olive oil and blend until the pesto is thick and sauce like, but not runny (you may require more or less than the 1/8 of a cup as specified in the ingredients list).
4. Scrape the pesto in to a jar and place aside for later.

To make the zucchini pasta:
1. Using a peeler, remove the skin from the zucchinis and then cut off the stalks with a knife.
2. Cut the zucchinis in to quarters, long ways.
3. One at a time, lay each quarter flat side down on to the chopping board and slice thinly. Your aim is to create long slithers, about double the size of fettuccini pasta, however, it’s not really a big deal if they turn out uneven and rough.
4. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a fry pan before sautéing the freshly sliced zucchini. The goal is to cook the zucchini until it is soft and more flexible, but not soggy.

To assemble the dish:
1. In a larger mixing bowl, place the zucchini pasta, 2 tablespoon of the cottage cheese and the pesto and mix with a spoon until well combined.
2. Share the pasta between two bowls and top each with ½  the avocado, ½ a tablespoon of cottage cheese and 2 tablespoons of crushed walnuts.
3. Enjoy!