Well I've been a little incommunicado lately due to a mini-trip to Niagara, a two day illness and four glorious days of unseasonably hot weather in which there was no time spent indoors or on electronics. Needless to say the weather has regulated itself and now we can enjoy the sweet smell of Spring flowers blooming, warm Americanos in store windows and get back to writing.
Today it's about a recipe for a dish I posted for during the heat wave when all we wanted was crisp, cool veggies and minimal stove usage. It all started with finding some carrot top pesto in my freezer from a season past for moments just like these. The pesto itself was concocted from not wanting to waste all the beautiful greenage of my carrot friends and while there was already some saved for soups and salads, I wanted to try something different. I used the same principles of a basic pesto but in place of your herb of choice I swapped in my carrot tops. In with them went fresh lemon juice, walnuts, olive oil, salt and pepper and they were blended til smooth and promptly tossed into the freezer.
Fast forward to present day. The sun was shining, I'd spent the day sanding down a new table for our deck and setting up our hammock. A full outdoor day called for something fresh and crunchy for dinner. During our last grocery trip there was a bag of zucchinis on the discount rack, I'm talking ten zucchini for $2.00, and what's the best way to have zucchinis? Spiralized of course! I followed this by noodling some carrots to add to the mix and from there the call started rolling.
But what to slather this beautiful noodle bowl with, I thought to myself, and that's when I remembered the pesto! A few minutes later I had a blender full of a gorgeous bright green sauce to douse my dish with and the rest is history.
Today it's about a recipe for a dish I posted for during the heat wave when all we wanted was crisp, cool veggies and minimal stove usage. It all started with finding some carrot top pesto in my freezer from a season past for moments just like these. The pesto itself was concocted from not wanting to waste all the beautiful greenage of my carrot friends and while there was already some saved for soups and salads, I wanted to try something different. I used the same principles of a basic pesto but in place of your herb of choice I swapped in my carrot tops. In with them went fresh lemon juice, walnuts, olive oil, salt and pepper and they were blended til smooth and promptly tossed into the freezer.
Fast forward to present day. The sun was shining, I'd spent the day sanding down a new table for our deck and setting up our hammock. A full outdoor day called for something fresh and crunchy for dinner. During our last grocery trip there was a bag of zucchinis on the discount rack, I'm talking ten zucchini for $2.00, and what's the best way to have zucchinis? Spiralized of course! I followed this by noodling some carrots to add to the mix and from there the call started rolling.
But what to slather this beautiful noodle bowl with, I thought to myself, and that's when I remembered the pesto! A few minutes later I had a blender full of a gorgeous bright green sauce to douse my dish with and the rest is history.
Needless to say I'm ready for Spring. The freshness of new life in the form of green onions and spinach, fiddleheads and rhubarb. Though this winter wasn't as hardy as years past, the time has come for the air to warm and world to behind anew again. I'm ready Spring when you are!
Here's the recipe:
The noodles.
1 zucchini, spiralized
1 carrot, spiralized
Green beans/pea glass noodles (about the same amount of the veggie noodles)
1/2 Spanish onion, thinly sliced and put in a bowl with 2 tbsp ACV and salt and set aside to quick pickle
Small handful kalamata olives
Grey sea salt and pepper to taste.
Toss all ingredients together, the onions you can leave until the end and add a little bit of the vinegar mixture to the bowl with them.
The sauce.
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
2 heaping tbsp carrot top pesto
1 tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Grey sea salt and pepper
Enough water for sauce to run smoothly, approximately 1 1/2 cups
Blend until a smooth consistency and pour over the noodles until coated and let stand for 15-20 minutes before eating.
Top with hemp and pumpkin seeds and serve with crispy tofu or on it's own! No matter what you do it's going to be delicious either way. Just be sure to feed your body the proper fuel it needs and it will take care of the rest.