Zucchini Pasta with Marinated Cherry Tomatoes and Pesto

Afke Zunderland

Updated Apr 28, 2015

Pasta

4 cups (1 L) cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh basil, finely chopped.
1/4 cup (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
1/2 tsp (2 mL) Celtic sea salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 cups (500 mL) shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3 Tbsp (45 mL) low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp (30 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
2 - 6 in (15 cm) zucchinis

Marinate first 6 ingredients in a glass jar; turn it over a few times. You can do this the night before. It’s fine to leave the jar on the counter.

Marinate sweet onion and mushrooms with soy sauce and oil for 10 minutes to take the raw taste off the onions and to soften and colour mushrooms.

Slice zucchinis lengthwise with a mandoline or potato peeler. This looks like real pasta! Include the skin only when organic produce is purchased.

Place zucchini in casserole dish. Top with marinated tomatoes and mushroom/onion mixture. (Discard marinade from onions.) Serve with pesto and garnish with pine nuts. Serves 4.

Each serving contains: 188 calories; 4 g protein; 14 g total fat (2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 14 g carbohydrates; 3 g fibre; 710 mg sodium

Pesto

This pesto is made without cheese or oil.

1 bunch fresh spinach*
1 bunch fresh cilantro*
1 bunch fresh parsley*
1 bunch fresh basil
1 avocado, cut into pieces
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup (80 g) pine nuts
3 Tbsp (45 mL) nutritional yeast
Sea salt

*Note: substitute basil for these three ingredients if you have a plentiful supply of basil in your garden, or simply use spinach and cilantro.

Combine all ingredients in food processor. Pulse and chop with S-blade of food processor; blend until smooth. Add water if needed.

Freeze pesto in zip-lock bags flattened to 1/4 in (6 mm) thickness. Break off needed amounts at short notice and add them to warm pasta and tomato soup, or use pesto instead of butter in vine-ripened sweet tomato sandwiches.

Each 1/4 cup (60 mL) serving contains: 53 calories; 2 g protein; 4 g total fat (0 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 4 g carbohydrates; 2 g fibre; 105 mg sodium

source: "Simply Rawsome!", alive #333, July 2010

Zucchini Pasta with Marinated Cherry Tomatoes and Pesto

Directions

Afke Zunderland

Afke Zunderland is the enthusiastic chef behind Foods Alive. She lives in the farm community of Grindrod, BC, where she teaches raw food classes. She makes eating fresh simply delicious.

READ THIS NEXT

Food

Warming Blueberry Orange Tea

This is a spin off the classic, without the Grand Marnier. The depth of orange is derived from a generous piece of orange peel simmered in the tea.

Food

No-Bake Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Tarts are timeless, and a good tart is always a people-pleaser. And who doesn’t love something with chocolate in any form? This classic tart is so easy to make with fresh fruit and hints of orange in a delicious chocolate crust. Once firm, it cuts like a dream into 16 easy slices. Fruity faves This remarkable tart lends itself well to a bevy of flavours. We conjoined raspberries with chocolate and orange in our tart. But you can stretch the boundaries with all sorts of fruits such as mango, pineapple, and papaya. If you’re longing to go somewhere tropical but the opportunity has scooted away, make this timely tart and fill it with the flavours of the tropics.

Food

Dreamy Maple Sipper

This cozy winter drink is perfect for sipping by the fireside. Serve it up with our Maple Pecans. It’s soothingly delicious and creamy served hot or cold. Plant milks We’ve suggested oat milk for an ultimate creamy beverage in our recipe. But any plant milk will be equally delicious. Other possibilities include unsweetened soy, almond, rice, and regular dairy milk products. Iced maple milk affogato A true Italian affogato is vanilla gelato or ice cream doused in espresso. In our version we place 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream in a glass and douse it with our hot Dreamy Maple Sipper. Shave some dark chocolate on top and gratings of nutmeg. Serve with a tall spoon. Delicious!

Food

Maple Pecans

Here’s the perfect recipe for a fireside snack attack. It’s so easy and can be made ahead and stored in a tightly covered container in the fridge or freezer without losing crispness. Delicious served with a hot toddy. Crunchy munchies Switch out pecans for Brazil nuts or walnuts, or even mixed nuts. The trick is to use raw nuts, as opposed to roasted, as these would become too toasted. Try playing with different spices such as cinnamon or curry powder. These are delicious served on crostini that’s been spread with our Creamy Feta Dip.