Tuesday 3 March 2015

Raw Zucchini Noodles with Homemade Basil and Walnut Pesto

The highlight of last week for me was receiving some postie love, in the form of the vegetable spiralizer I had ordered online a few weeks back. Yep, it was a pretty dull week otherwise! But, back to the spiralizer. This nifty little hand-held gadget slices your veggies into strings similar to noodles or spaghetti. There are 2 blades; one for thin noodles and one for slightly thicker noodles. 

Le Spiralizer 

 The blades inside the spiralizer 

So far I have only used my new toy with carrot and zucchini, both of which work really well, as they are long, thin vegetables which are easy to hold and turn through the spiralizer. The carrot worked well in salads, but I got straight to work on a new recipe to use with the beautiful seasonal zucchini which is available in abundance at present. Hence, I bring to you:
Raw Zucchini Noodles with Homemade Basil and Walnut Pesto 
Serves 4-6 as a side salad, or could be eaten as a main also. 
Preparation time - about 15 minutes 

Ingredients 
2 medium sized zucchini (I used about 300g)

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves 
1 cup raw walnut halves 
1 clove garlic 
2 teaspoons fetta cheese (I used goat's fetta)
Cracked black pepper, to taste

Method
1. Turn the zucchini through the spiralizer to form noodles. I used the thicker blade, as I found the thin zucchini noodles too moist and clumpy. The spiralizer produced very very long noodles, which I then cut into about 20cm lengths, or that similar to regular spaghetti.
2. Toast the walnuts under a griller or in a fry pan over medium heat. Toast until golden brown. 
3. Combine the garlic, basil, nuts and cheese in a blender and blend until all ingredients are combined into a fine paste. I left my pesto a little chunky, though you could blend into a smoother paste if desired. 
4. Stir the pesto through the raw zucchini noodles and serve. You may like to add some extra fetta for a creamier pasta. 
Raw Zucchini Noodles with Pesto, topped with homegrown cherry tomatoes 

 Close up view 

Notes: 
- We had this dish served as per above as a side salad. I also had the leftovers for lunch the next day with added roast pumpkin, grilled red capsicum, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and baby spinach leaves which was absolutely divine. Too yummy to photograph, I'm afraid!
- I did not use all the pesto made, so I've kept the excess in a screw-top jar in the fridge. It has been really nice to have it handy to add to salads, chicken, stuffed into mushrooms and barbequed, and even stirred through scrambled eggs. I presume it would also be a nice addition to pizzas or focaccias. 
- You could use any nuts, not only walnuts. Traditional pesto is made using pine nuts, but I choose walnuts for 1) something different, 2) because I love them, 3) because we have lots of them at home.   
Leftover Pesto
 
I hope you enjoy this recipe! I would highly recommend getting a veggie spiralizer, as they are a great way to increase your veggie, and thus nutrient intake. 

- Em xx

2 comments:

  1. I got mine in the post this week too! :D
    Although my zucchinis were WAY too big so it didn't work amazingly, still tasty though

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  2. Oh Im so glad you enjoy your spiraliser too and that I am not the only one to get excited over kitchen gadgets! It's a great way to use up surplus veg, and it sounds like you harvested some beauties!!
    Em

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