Zucchini Pesto
I was with my family this Christmas and my mother and father and I were making ravioli. My mom was making the filling, my dad was making the pasta and put it all together, and I was making the sauce. With about a dozen ravioli to go, however, my dad announces that we had run out of filling. We quickly went through the fridge and my mom managed to put together a zucchini/basil/mascarpone filling for the last few. It wasn’t vegan, but it did get me thinking. I decided that as soon as I got back, I would have to come up with some kind of vegan zucchini pesto. The result was truly divine.
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 400g pasta
- 3 zucchini/courgettes
- 120g basil (stems and all)
- 75g cashew nuts, soaked for 6 hours in water
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic
- salt
- pepper
Preparation (30 minutes)
Fill a large pot with water and bring to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, cut the zucchini into thin slices and put them on a pan on medium high heat with a generous amount of olive oil. Cook them until soft and golden brown, then leave to sit for 5 minutes. In the meantime blend the 3 tbsp of olive oil, the basil, and the garlic. Once it’s smooth, add the nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and zucchini. Blend again until smooth, then start, slowly, adding the cashew nuts. By now the water should be boiling, add a handful of salt, the pasta, and stir every 2 minutes until it’s ready (usually 10 minutes at the most). Drain the pasta, put it back in the pot, and add the pesto. Stir it all together, serve, and prepare yourself to be blown away!