Why I love this...
This makes for a great and super nourishing Summer dinner. Packed with nutrients and vitamins from the pesto and seasonal vegetables this pasta dish is both healthy and hearty at the same and totally hits the spot for me after a day of running, yoga, paddle boarding and generally being active. Try to get the herbs and squash on the same day as making this so they're really fresh - in full transparency: I made up this recipe when my patio garden was over-producing everything and I needed to harvest ;-)
Ingredients
For the pesto:
Copy this recipe and add
3 medium florets of broccoli, roughly chopped
Half a medium avocado
6-8 tbsp water
Black pepper to taste
For the squash:
1 medium yellow zucchini squash, sliced
3 table spoons olive oil
1 tbsp seasalt
40g grated parmesan (optional - the recipe is vegan without)
Preferred pasta for two people (I like thin wholewheat spaghetti)
10 cherry tomatoes
Salt & Pepper to taste
Equipment
Chopping board
Chopping knife
Griddle pan
Tongs/spatula
Saucepan
Frying pan
Cooking spoon
Tablespoon
Appliances: Blender/Food Processor, Cooker
Preparation
Make the pesto first, blending all ingredients together in a food processor or blender.
Heat the griddle pan and smother the squash slices in olive oil. When the pan is hot place the slides in the pan and griddle them until they are charred and soft, turning a couple of times and adding salt to both sides as you go.
Whilst the squash is grilling, put your pasta on to boil. Once al-dente, drain and retain a few spoons of the cooking water.
When both pasta and squash are done, warm up your frying pan and add the pesto and half the pasta water. Let it warm up and then add the drained pasta, stirring and turning regularly (I like the tongs for this).
Meanwhile, chop your tomatoes in half, grate the parmesan and slice most of the squash into strips retaining a couple of bigger pieces for decoration.
When the pasta has been soaking in the pesto for around 5 minutes, add half the parmesan (if using), the rest of the pasta water, the tomatoes and squash and season with salt and pepper. Give it another 3-5 minutes to come together and for the tomatoes to soften
Then serve with the rest of the squash pieces, and the parmesan on top.