SERVES TWO (420 calories per serving)
Greens, Nuts and Seeds Pesto
Makes about 1-1/2 cups pesto
1 cup basil leaves (save the stems)
1 cup spinach or arugula leaves
1/4-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan or chevre cheese (optional)
1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds and/or sunflower seeds
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Place the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until coarsely chopped sort of the consistency of fine pickle relish). If the mixture is a little dry, add a bit more olive oil.
Note: Use this recipe as a base and custom design it to your own taste. Try using chard or beet greens instead of spinach. Add flax seed or chia seed. Try almonds or pistachios instead of hazelnuts. You get the idea!
Zucchini “Pasta” with Pesto, Tomatoes and Pine Nuts
3 medium zucchini
1 T + 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup (or to your taste) basil pesto (I love PCC deli made pesto, or make your own!) (recipe link to nuts, seeds and greens pesto here)
1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, stemmed and cut in half
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Squeeze fresh lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
With a julienne peeler, mandolin or a vegetable peeler cut the zucchini, lengthwise, into long threads or ribbons.
In a large, heavy sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat ( and add the zucchini. Toss just until the zucchini is heated through, about 1 minute. Make a well in the center of the zucchini and add the pesto to heat and soften. Sprinkle the tomatoes and pine nuts over. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon and season with salt and pepper. Gently toss all of the ingredients together and heat through. Don’t overcook. The entire process should take no more than 3 minutes.
Serve warm or chilled with basil leaves and lemon wedges.
What do you do with the remaining pesto? Fill an ice cube tray with the remaining pesto and freeze. Once frozen (24 hours in the refrigerator), remove frozen pesto cubes from the ice cube tray and place in a freezer ziploc bag. Label and return to the freezer.
This will allow you a very quick flavor addition to cooked quinoa or rice (add a frozen cube to the pot with the dry grain and water, bring to a boil and simmer) . I also add this to one of my favorite breakfast recipes: 2 poached pastured eggs over 1/3 sliced avocado over pesto spinach. I sauté a cup or so of spinach with a cube of greens and nut, pesto. Add the frozen pesto to the pan first and allow to melt over low/ medium heat (do not over heat to melt). Once melted, add your spinach, sauté and then layer: spinach with pesto on the bottom, then avocado and poached eggs on the top.