Skip to main content

Avocado Pesto; Roasted Mushrooms and Green Beans w Balsamic & Parm

In my quest to  lighten our diet a bit, I came across a recipe for "Clean & Healthy Avocado Pesto Alfredo" on Pinterest via The Gracious Pantry. I don't know what possessed me to pin it a few months back, being that the word "avocado" alone should have been enough to make me turn away.  Yes, that's right friends: I'm a native Californian pseudo-foodie who does not like avocados. It happens.
I should say, however, that I adore guacamole, so really it comes down to disliking large slices of avocado. I can handle small chunks.

Moving on. In short, this recipe is fantastic and I would absolutely recommend it for summer! I used a bit more lemon juice, and added some parmesan to the sauce during the blending phase, but no other adjustments. 2 avocados, lemon juice, basil + one immersion blender and it is the easiest sauce ever. I think I'd add a bit more basil next time, but that is really dependent on how much one likes traditional pesto. I served it with Rossi Pasta's Wild Mushroom Linguine and our side was another Pinterest find: Roasted Mushrooms and Green Beans with Balsamic and Parmesan via Kalyn's Kitchen.

For the beans, 450F seemed like a high temp for roasting veggies, but as she says, make sure you use a large enough baking sheet so that you can spread the vegetables around--particularly for the sake of the mushrooms, which retain a lot of moisture.  The higher temp roasts the outside of the beans quite beautifully, but they retained their crunch and flavor. I reduced the cooking time to about 17 minutes.

All of this is delightfully healthy and vegetarian. If you leave the parm out of the beans and the pesto, these recipes are vegan as well (provided you don't serve the pesto with regular pasta, as I did).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Winter Farmers Market: Sautéed Scallops and Herbed Rice

Somerville, MA is a great city. I love living here, and this year's new Winter Farmer's Market just added to my joy. It runs between now and March, and it has been inspiring to see people trudging out in the cold, ice and snow, to the Armory (yes, the market is inside). This past Saturday, I stocked up on locally grown leeks and potatoes, grabbed some hot Italian sausage from Stillman's , and then ventured upstairs to buy some FRESH FISH from Jordan Brothers Seafood. Yes, that's right: haddock from Gloucester, and scallops from Maine. Not frozen--fresh. When she showed me the scallops I might have cried, just a little. Oh, and I picked up a baguette, brioche, and potato bread. Scallops don't require a lot of fuss, but are easy to overcook. I pulled out my San Juan Classics Cookbook (San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest, not Puerto Rico) and went straight to the shellfish section where I found a recipe for "Sautéed Prawns or Scallops" from Thibert...

Quinoa Pilaf with Artichokes, Leeks and Sugar Snap Peas

More Quinoa!  This was healthy, easy, and, "a way I actually *like* quinoa" as reported by my husband.  The recipe is here , and I made the following notes: stir the quinoa in the oil and leeks for 2-3 minutes before adding the broth definitely use low-sodium chicken broth---quinoa absorbs salt very well and I found that the regular chicken broth was too salty.  If you are using homemade stock or veggie broth, you are probably fine. I will add the snap peas last next time (with the artichoke hearts). I like my peas to retain their "snap." This is really a terrific meal for summer or to bring to a potluck.

Curried Carrot Slaw

Curried Carrot Slaw with Wild Rice Pilaf-Stuffed Chicken Thighs CURRIED CARROT SLAW This is a hit at every summer potluck/bbq, super easy to make, and extremely versatile as a side dish. It is my mother's recipe which I've doctored up just a tiny bit. INGREDIENTS 1 bag of whole carrots, peeled and shredded (tip: use the food processor!)* 1/4 cup t0 1/2 cup raisins 3-4 tablespoons shredded coconut (optional) 3/4 cup mayonnaise (you may wish to use less depending on your taste) 1 tablespoon dry mustard 2-3 teaspoons curry powder salt and pepper to taste Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well! Chill for at least an hour. A few notes: you can make this up ahead of time, but do know that the spices and salt will draw a fair amount of liquid out of the carrots. For this reason, you may want to adjust the amount of mayonnaise you use. If I want it to have more kick, I use more curry powder. If I want a sweeter slaw, I include more shredded coconut. You can buy "shredde...