Here is a recipe from one of my friends Shonna Steppe (who makes amazing food). Just thought I’d share this pesto recipe. It’s a healthy version that doesn’t use crazy amounts of cheese like traditional recipes, and it’s very very good. Check it out.
- 2 Handfulls of Raw Spinach
- 2 Handfulls of Raw Basil
- 2 Sage leaves
- 1/2 Avocado
- 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 1/4 Asian Pear
- 5 tablespoon Olive Oil
- Small handful of Raw Mixed Nuts
- Fresh ground Pepper and Salt to taste
Get Your Water On The Stove To Boil While Working On This Next Part… Big Pot (pasta needs lots of room), Salty Water Like The Ocean (no oil in the water. It prevents sauce from sticking).
Now for the Veges
We’re gonna grill a couple, and leave the rest with raw flavor.
Get your grill super hot.
- Cut some fresh grape tomatoes (preferably heirloom!) in half. Set aside.
- Pop the lid off a jar of Maria Artichoke Hearts, marinated in oil and spices.
- Slice an Eggplant lengthwise about ½ inch thick. Lay each piece on a sheet pan (cookie sheet) and generously salt. This draws water out and makes it easier to grill! After about 15 -30 minutes, dab dry with paper towels.
- Lightly salt again. Spray or brush with Grapeseed Oil.
- Slice up a couple yellow squash, also lengthwise, about ½ inch thick. I cut the neck off first, and simply cut in half.
- No need to draw water out. Just salt and spray or brush with Grapeseed Oil
- Lay pieces of each veg on the grill where it’s most hot. Leave until you see black grill marks and it gets a bit soft, but not too soft!! You don’t want it to be mushy.
- Flip to get grill marks on other side, just briefly.
- Remove back to sheet pan to cool only enough to cut
- Cut into bit-size pieces for pasta
Now for the Pasta
- Go ahead and drop that fresh pasta into the boiling water. Cook until just done.
- Strain into a bowl and reserve the water.
- Immediately put the pasta back into the hot empty pot, and coat with the Pesto. (if the pesto is too thick, add a little hot pasta water)
- Gently fold in the Grilled Veges
Simply plate and garnish with lemon zest and minced sage or basil.
Sounds super yummy, timing is everything with the vegis, thanks for the pointer on the egg plant salt thing, I always suffer through the mushy vegi thing cuz their healthy but I bet that helps a lot.
try this sauce on zucchini “pasta”. use some kind of slicer to slice the raw zucchini into thin strips (kind of like fettuccine, or egg noodle width) and just put sauce on it. a healthier version of pasta. =)
sounds good Candace!