Courgetti Pesto Pasta
Trying to get nutrients that is tasty into my 2.5 year old toddler isn’t always easy! Originally this was for her as she’s gluten and dairy sensitive, unfortunately the garlic was a bit strong for her. So my husband and 10 year old step daughter ended up devouring it instead, hence the addition of Parmesan.
The best thing about this recipe is that you don’t need to cook the courgetti which I love as there’s no need to faff around squeezing the excess water out and no sogginess - not to mention the extra nutrients you get with them being raw!
SERVES - 3-4 portions
TIME - 15 MINS
PESTO SAUCE INGREDIENTS
1 medium avocado
1/2 cup of cashew nuts (soaked)
3 medium cloves of garlic
1 lemon juice and zest
Good handful of basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
NOODLES + TOPPINGS
2 large courgettes
1/2 cup of peas
1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes
12 bacon rashers fried (leave if you’re veggie/vegan)
Parmesan grated (optional)
METHOD
Cut bacon and or sun-dried tomatoes (if you’re veggie) into bite sized pieces and fry in a tbsp of oil.
While the bacon is cooking, make the Pesto sauce. Peel and cube the avocado, set aside the water from the cashew nuts (you may want to add it in later if the sauce is too thick). Add the Basil leaves, squeeze and grate the zest of the lemon, peel and add the garlic. Blitz until smooth creamy texture. Add and salt and pepper to taste. Add water from cashews if it needs thinning out a bit.
Cut the ends of the courgettes and turn through the spiraliser.
Take the bacon off the heat and place onto kitchen towel to soak up excess oil and let cool.
Flash the courgetti in a pan - only a few minutes, just enough to heat it through (you don’t want it to go soggy!)
Once it’s warmed through, remove from the heat and stir through the Pesto sauce-this can get messy!
Finally stir in your ‘toppings’ peas, sun-dried tomatoes and or bacon and devour!