aditi

superfood pesto pasta

  • 360 g pasta
  • 60 g kale leaves
  • 30 g basil leaves
  • 1 zucchini
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 30 g walnuts
  • 30 g parmigiano-reggiano or vegan substitute
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ lemon juice squeezed

4 servings
  1. Chop garlic into cubes and zucchini into slices.
  2. Sauté garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until golden on a medium heat.
  3. Once golden, add the zucchini, season with salt and let it sauté together.
  4. At the same time, boil water in a pasta pot, don’t forget to heavily salt the pasta water. Add the kales leaves and let them blanch for approx. 2 minutes, remove from the water once they’ve wilted.
  5. Add a splash of the boiling water to the zucchini and let it simmer down until it has softened, then turn the heat off.
  6. Start to cook pasta in the same boiling water.
  7. In a food processor or blender, add the wilted kale, zucchini, garlic, splash of pasta water and blend until smooth.
  8. Now add basil, walnuts, cheese , lemon juice, remaining olive oil, pinch of salt, along with another splash of pasta water to a blender and blitz. Blend together until combined, a little texture is ok with the pesto but you want it to be a nice thick creamy consistency. If it's too thick, add a splash more of the pasta water. 
  9. When pasta is cooked to al dente, drain into the same pan where the zucchini was sautéed. Don’t forget to save some of the pasta water!
  10. Pour over the pesto, add a splash of pasta water and let it cook together for a minute so that the pasta is nicely covered with your pesto.
  11. Serve and enjoy your pasta full of superfoods and sneaky veggies!
  • By cooking the kale and zucchini before blending together, this eliminates any bitter taste and assists the pesto with its gorgeous green colour. I always find it tastes best when these veggies are blended smooth with some of the pasta water as stage 1 of the pesto before adding the remaining pesto ingredients. That way you can leave some texture and not over blend the basil and walnuts.
  • As I always say, don’t forget to save some pasta water! Once your pasta is cooked to al dente, add to your pan, pour over your pesto with a splash of pasta water. Let it cook together for a minute to ensure the beautiful flavours of the pesto cover all parts of your pasta. The pasta water is the glue which marries your sauce and pasta together.
Recipe from here.