Vegan Zoodles + Cilantro, Basil & Sundried Tomato Pesto

Almond Basil Pesto
cilantro garden
cilantro basil pesto

Today was a gorgeous morning. I had an early morning stroll through my garden-in-progress, and checked on my tomato plants for any new suckers, which are little stems that grow between the main stem and lower branch. Those naughty suckers take the vital energy from productive branches that will actually give you tomatoes, so you have to get rid of them. As I continued checking through my garden, I noticed my cilantro had grown relatively enormous compared to last week. And I thought, why not make cilantro pesto with all the basil I have (10 basil plants) growing right next to it. I picked a bunch of both from my garden and made a veganlicious pesto to go with zucchini noodles. One word for this garden concoction: Delicioso!

Serves 4

Pesto
1 ½ cup cilantro (aka coriander), chopped
1 ½ cup basil
¼ cup olive oil
2-3 small cloves
2 tbsp sun dried tomatoes
⅓ cup almonds, toasted
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Zoodles
6-8 zucchini (aka courgette)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

Tools
GEFU Spiral Slicer (hand held vegetable spiralizer)
food processor

Basil Sundried Pesto Zoodles

Spiralize zucchini with a vegetable spiralizer. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan on medium heat and place the zoodles (zucchini noodles) flat on the pan to make sure they cook evenly. Add salt and stir occasionally every other minute, to avoid sticking or burning. If you have folks that prefer the zoodles raw (which are really nice on a hot day), you can totally skip cooking them, and chill them in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile add your all of your pesto ingredients in the food processor and start by pulsing a few seconds then blend till smooth but somewhat grainy. If it is too thick add more olive to emulsify, and push down with a spatula any ingredients that stick to the walls.

Turn off the heat for the zoodles and fold in the pesto to mix in all the delicious flavors. Garnish with baby basil leaves or julienne if them if they are large and serve immediately.

spiralizer
basil zoodles This veganlicious recipe was featured at Free From Heaven Magazine! Please visit the website and share with your friends and family!

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