I am just going to toot my own horn and say HOLY YUM.
This recipe was a bit of an experiment, but man did it turn out GOOD! If you are trying to go gluten-free but still love your weekly pasta meals, you must try making zucchini noodles. Seriously, go do it.
ZUCCHINI NOODLES + KALE PESTO + PAN-ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES = HEAVEN.
KALE PESTO
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic
- 3 cups packed kale
- ¾ cup hemp seeds or toasted walnuts
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (NOTE: you can also zest some lemon to add to this, too!)
- ¾ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
In a food processor, add in all ingredients in order, except for olive oil. Blend well, drizzle in olive oil, completely blend until desired consistency. (I ran my last food processor INTO THE GROUND, so I used our blender for this recipe. The pesto wasn’t completely smooth, but it still had the yummy flavors I was wanting! I say work with what ya got!)
PAN-ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES
- 5-7 cherry tomatoes
- 1-2 tbs of coconut oil
- garlic pepper
- red pepper flakes
Heat oil on medium heat. Wash + half the cherry tomatoes, place cut side up in pan. Season to desired taste. Roast for 2-3 minutes, and then flip tomatoes to cut side down, and roast again until desired roast.
ZUCCHINI NOODLES
- 2-3 zucchini, julienned (or spiral sliced)
Wash + julienne the zucchini until you get to the seeds. (If you julienne, PLEASE BE CAREFUL! that little sucker can poke the shiz out of your fingers if you aren’t careful.) Discard the seed core. Put zucchini noodles in a microwavable bowl, and heat 2-3 minutes, depending on the desired texture. The noodles will be steam cooked, but should still be similar to al dente in their bite. top with kale pesto, pan-roasted tomatoes + a sprinkle of parmesan cheese if desired! NOM.
The kale pesto has been adapted from cookie + kate’s recipe, here.
