Spring is here! Out of my Urban Kitchen window I see – a beautiful sunny day, birds chirping and a notable visual change – seeing people NOT into the layers of clothing, all of it announcing the arrival of spring! I do not understand why New Year’s resolutions had to be around holiday time in cold winter and with all that good food around, it should be in Spring in my opinion where you can go out on long walks/runs etc. And that way at least most of us would stick it to i guess, right? And of course, the abundance of fresh colorful produce, the herbs and longer days would make it much much more easier to get inspired to cook fresh wholesome meals.
This dish has all the things i love – avocado, cilantro, garlic, basil and olive oil. Yummm…!
This can be an easy lunch or dinner option or can be served as a side. Its hard to get Mr. taste tester to eat anything raw but to my amazement he gobbled this down quick! Though i boiled his noodles for a minute in hot salted water.
- 5 large zucchinis, washed
- 2 medium size avocados, pit removed
- 15-20 fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 Jalapeño (seeds removed if you want less hot)
- 1 big clove of garlic
- ½ lemon, squeezed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- salt to taste
- Start by spiralizing your washed and peeled zucchinis. Alternatively you can julienne them with julienne peeler or just use your plain good old vegetable peeler. The idea is to have them thin noodles like shape. You can choose not to peel these, I just like it for the visual preference. Add a bit of a salt and put it in a strainer for 10-15 minutes. This will help some of the excess water drain out from the zucchini.
- In a food processor, put all the pesto ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Coat the noodles with this pesto using kitchen tongs to ensure all the noodles are well-coated.
- Serve fresh.
Another method is sauteing the zucchini noodles in some oil or butter over medium high heat for 2 minutes and then mix the sauce in.
You can also garnish it with some toasted pine nuts or sunflower seeds for a bit of crunch.
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