Zucchini Noodles with Homemade Pesto and Potatoes
This fresh zucchini noodle recipe with homemade pesto and diced potatoes is going to be your new favorite summer side dish. Bursting with flavor and easy to make, it marries perfectly with chicken or steak, or even a seafood dish. Bonus if you can get all the ingredients fresh from your garden!
Servings: 4
Equipment
- 1 spiralizer for making zucchini noodles
- 1 food processor
Ingredients
For the pesto
- 3 cups ~60 grams fresh basil leaves
- 2-3 garlic cloves optional
- 1/3 cup ~40 grams walnuts or other nuts of choice
- 1/4 cup 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
For the zucchini noodles with pesto and potatoes
- 2 or 3 medium zucchini
- 2 small potatoes omit for keto-friendly
- 6 tablespoons pesto
- Grated parmesan cheese to taste, optional
- Sea salt to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil to taste
Instructions
For making pesto
- Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor and process until finely minced
- Add the olive oil and keep processing until you have a smooth pesto. If your food processor allows it, slowly dribble the olive oil in while the machine is running on low speed.
- Use the pesto fresh or store it. You can store your pesto in the refrigerator for up to a week in a closed mason jar. Pour a thin layer of olive oil on top of the pesto to preserve freshness. You can also freeze your pesto for several months (an easy way is to portion the pesto into an ice cube tray and then transfer it into a ziplock bag once frozen solid)
For making zucchini noodles with pesto and potatoes
- Peel and dice the potatoes in small cubes and prepare the zucchini noodles with your method of choice.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the diced potatoes and cook for about 7 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost cooked.
- Add the zucchini noodles to the boiling water with the potatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the zucchini are cooked but still crispy ("al dente").
- Drain the zucchini noodles and potatoes over a strainer and remove any excess water.
- Add the zucchini noodles and potatoes back in the pot, add pesto sauce, extra olive oil and salt if needed (to taste) and stir with a spatula to combine everything together. Add grated parmesan cheese (if wanted0 and combine.
- Serve warm with extra parmesan cheese and fresh basil if desidered.
Notes
Don't over-process the pesto in the food processor. Pulse the ingredients rather than blend and make sure the food processor doesn't overheat to preserve the freshness and aroma of the basil.
If desired, you can add parmesan cheese to this pesto recipe. Just add grated parmesan cheese at the end of step 2 and pulse quickly in the food processor until incorporated. I prefer to add parmesan cheese directly into the recipe rather than in the pesto sauce itself, especially if I'm preserving the pesto for later use.
