Spring is hopefully here to stay now. *crosses fingers and toes* And with that comes the realisation of, oh sh*t, nearly time to get the bare legs out. Boys, I know you must fully understand this. I jest, but, with summer feeling like it’s actually on the horizon and after months of carb loading (what is it with this when its cold!), spring makes me want to throw in a lighter meal from time to time.
Now, there are loads of fancy pants spiralizers out there. But I got a hand held spiralizer
like this one for Christmas and I love it. It’s small, easy to use and easy to clean.
Once I’ve made the pesto I store it in a jar and keep it in the fridge for up to two weeks. Recently I’ve also been enjoying it spooned on a salmon fillet to almost create a crust, then bake for 12 minutes. Try it, it’s seriously good!
Ingredients
– 2 x large courgettes
– 1 x garlic clove
– 25g pine nuts
– 35g cashew nuts
– 75ml extra virgin olive oil
– Handful of basil leaves (no stalks)
– 40g parmesan, grated
– 30g sun-dried tomatoes, drained from oil
– 100g sun-dried peppers, drained from oil
– 1 tbsp tomato puree
Leave the courgettes to one side, and add everything else to a food processor. Pulse to begin with to get it going and then blend. If it feels really thick you can add a splash to water to help it. I normally whiz it up for a couple of minutes. I don’t like it too smooth. Once its done place the mixture in a sealable jar. As I mentioned, it keeps for up to about two weeks.
Next ‘spiralize’ your courgettes. Either use your spiralizer or if you don’t have one, you can just use a grater on its side and pull the courgette lengthways down it and it will create long spaghetti like strips. Get a frying pan hot, and add your courgetti for two minutes max, I just like to warm through the courgette. Take off the heat and add a couple of table spoons of your pesto. Mix through and serve straight away – I like to add a couple of shavings of parmesan to finish it off.
I often cook this for myself mid-week as it’s just so quick and easy to whip up, and has the added bonus of being pretty healthy.