Hello, hi, namasthe!
I am back and I know this post will make you all forgive me for slacking all these days with respect to the blog not just because you are all awesome but also because this winning recipe
- takes less than twenty minutes from start to finish (including pasta cooking time)
- is so creamy, you will not miss the cheese, god promise.
- The best part – it’s toddler approved!
Another plus is that it’s really healthy (use whole grain pasta) and is a good way to get your daily dose of greens because the possibilities of customizing it are endless.
What you need:
- 1 ripe avocado
- a handful (or more) of spinach
- roughly about a handful of nuts of choice – I used a mix of pistachios, almonds, cashews and hazelnut
- 3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced
- freshly ground black pepper – to taste
- salt – to taste
- Lemon zest & chopped fresh coriander – for topping
- Pasta of choice – cooked as per pack instructions, do not discard the water in which it was cooked.
Method:
- Cook pasta as per pack instructions, drain and set aside.
- Do not discard the water in which it was cooked.
- Wash the spinach thoroughly and add this to the cooked pasta water (which should be hot) and let it wilt (3-4 minutes)
- In the meantime, scoop out the avocado and add to your blender/food processor jar along with the nuts, lemon juice.
- Drain the water and add the wilted spinach to the blender jar.
- Blend until you get the consistency of your choice. Add salt and pepper.
- In a pan, heat some olive oil, add the garlic and let it roast well. Do not let it burn.
- Add the pasta to this and give a nice stir until the pasta warms up. Add the sauce to this, turn off flame and toss until the pasta is coated evenly.
- Adjust seasoning, if required. Serve immediately topped with lemon zest and fresh coriander.
This turned out to be so delicious, my son ate two bowls of it and still wouldn’t stop stealing from my plate when I sat down for dinner. Try it and tell me how you like it?
Notes:
- I let the spinach wilt in hot water to get rid of the raw smell/taste. You can skip this step if you want to.
- I had coarsely pounded the nuts to make a protein bar but realized I did not have enough dates, so I am not entirely sure of how much I used, so feel free to play around with the quantity and type of nut you use.
- You can add a little bit of the pasta water to make the sauce a tad bit runny, if you prefer it that way.
- The sauce will turn dark if stored, so try to use it all at the earliest.
Another easy pesto recipe here.
And So We Adult 