Zucchini harvests are usually pretty large at this time of the year, forcing cooks to hit the kitchen looking for creative uses for the summertime squash. I love to make zucchini “pasta” with my spiralizer, turning it into long, spaghetti like strands. I also love pesto, and this dish combines both of those loves. I like to make my pesto with spinach rather than the traditional basil, in order to ensure that I’m getting a good amount greens into my meal. The raw cashews in the recipe add a little bit of creaminess to the pesto, but feel free to use another nut, such as pine nuts or pistachios instead.

Ingredients:

Pasta:

• 2 medium to large zucchinis, ends trimmed
• ¼ cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained, rinsed and thinly sliced
• ½ cup kalamata olives, sliced
  

Pesto:

• 5 ounces baby spinach
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, optional
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon good quality sea salt

Preparation:

1. If you own a spiralizer, use it to make spaghetti-like strands with the zucchini. If you don’t, which I’m guessing is probably the case, you can use a julienne peeler to make thin strands, or you can use a regular vegetable peeler to make linguine-like “pasta” with the zucchini.
2. To make the pesto, combine all ingredients in a food processor fitted with an s-blade. Process until ingredients are chopped and just slightly chunky – do not over process.
3. Toss the pesto and “pasta” together. Top with the sun-dried tomatoes and olives. Enjoy!

Serves 4