Squash Pasta with Sage Pesto

This out-of-the-box pasta recipe is so delicious, you won’t believe it’s made from raw zucchini! Use a spiralizer or a veggie peeler to create your ideal size “noodles” and see how long it takes for your friends or family to notice the difference.

Ingredients:
Sage Pesto:
2 cups chopped basil
3 Tbsp. chopped sage
2 Tbsp. chopped leek
½ cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
1 ½ Tbsp. nutritional yeast
½ tsp sea salt
½ cup olive oil

Squash Pasta:
3 green zucchini, sliced into noodles
1 yellow zucchini, sliced into noodles
½ cup sunflower sprouts (alt: buck wheat
sprouts or pea shoots)
½ cup thinly julienned red bell pepper
½ cup Sage Pesto
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Basil, chopped coarsely (optional garnish)

Directions:

• To prepare Sage Pesto, remove stems from basil and sage. In a food processor, gently pulse basil, sage, leek, pine nuts, garlic, yeast and salt until finely minced.
• Add the oil slowly and in a thin, even stream, pulsing until sauce has reached a coarse consistency.
• To prepare Squash Pasta, combine green and yellow zucchini noodles with sprouts and bell pepper in a large bowl.
• In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup of the Sage Pesto, olive oil, red pepper flakes and black pepper.
• Slowly spoon the pesto onto the noodles, mix together gently with hands and serve. If you prefer it lightly sauced, don’t add all the pesto to the mixture.

Yield:
6 servings

Source:
Women, Winter 2012