Salmon Pesto Zasta

Pesto

Ingredients:

  • ⅓ cup raw pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans or pepitas

  • 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves (about 3 ounces or 2 large bunches)

  • ¼ cup grated Fresh Parmesan cheese

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

  • 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. (Optional) Toast the nuts or seeds for extra flavor: In a medium skillet, toast the nuts/seeds over medium heat, stirring frequently (don’t let them burn!), until nice and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour them into a bowl to cool for a few minutes.

  2. To make the pesto, combine the basil, cooled nuts/seeds, Parmesan, lemon juice, garlic and salt in a blender. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Continue processing until the mixture is well blended but still has some texture, pausing to scrape down the sides as necessary.

  3. Add a pinch of salt if the basil tastes too bitter or the pesto needs more zing.

  4. Store leftover pesto in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week. You can also freeze pesto—You can put in an ice cube tray and use when needed! Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag, then you can thaw only as much as you need later.

NOTES

MAKE IT DAIRY FREE/VEGAN: Replace the Parmesan with 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast.

MAKE IT NUT FREE: Use pine nuts, pepitas or sunflower seeds. (Pine nuts are technically seeds, but if you’re allergic to nuts, there’s a chance you’ll be allergic to pine nuts, too.)

PARMESAN NOTE: Most Parmesans are not technically vegetarian (they contain animal rennet), but Whole Foods 365 brands offer vegetarian Parmesan cheese.

Salmon

Bake 4oz size salmon pieces in the oven. Season with what ever floats your boat!

Zasta

  • organic zucchini (I use one small zucchini per person)

  • Rice pasta either spaghetti or linguine. I prefer spaghetti, mixes better with the zucchini.

Instructions:

  1. Bring water to boiling and add pasta (2 oz of dry pasta is one serving. If you are cooking for 2 people you would use 4 oz)

  2. Spiralize the zucchini and saute in a non stick pan until tender

  3. Add pasta and pesto to the pan (1/4 cup is one serving and this would be per person

Serve on a plate and add 1 piece of salmon!

Carmen Shawn