Thursday

Creamy Avocado Spaghetti



This recipe has been repeated on a number of websites, but the original is from a wonderful vegan blog called Oh She Glows.

I am absolutely obsessed with avocados and usually have a half of one every day. Blend them up with some herbs, lemon juice and olive oil and hey presto – you have yourself a yummy creamy pasta sauce or dip! On the health side of things, avocados are full of wonderful (non-fattening) good fats, fibre, vitamins and minerals*.

The brilliant part about this recipe is that it takes about 15 minutes in total because you blend the sauce while the pasta is cooking.
Don’t have a blender or processor? Just mash the avos and then mix with the other ingredients.

Feel free to use any type of herb that takes your fancy, add some roasted nuts or roasted cherry tomatoes. I know that when I make it next I’m going to use fresh dill from my Dad’s garden plus a juicy fillet of salmon.

Try swapping lemons for limes or throw some fresh chilli, jalepenos, capers or anchovies into the blender with the sauce mixture – I’m sure they would all be great!

What you need to serve 2 lucky people (double for 4 people):

  • 1 - 2 ripe avocados, flesh removed ( I used 1 1/2- add more avocado if you like your spaghetti really creamy)
  • the juice of 1 small lemon (about 2 tbsp)
  • 2-3 tbsp good quality olive oil
  • 1/4 cup basil leaves, or other herbs of choice i.e. coriander (cilantro), parsley or dill
  • 1/4 baby spinach leaves (optional)
  • spaghetti to serve two (around 200g), I used organic wholemeal pasta, try out different varieties like spelt, brown rice, kamut etc.
  • sprinkle of cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper to taste
How to cook it:

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Once boiling add a sprinkling of salt and the pasta and cook the pasta according to packet directions. While the pasta is cooking add all the ingredients for the sauce to a blender (cayenne, avocado, olive oil, lemon juice, basil and spinach) and blend until combined and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the pasta is ready drain most of the hot water keeping a couple of tablespoons of water in the bottom of the sauce pan to mix in with the sauce. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss to combine over a low heat. Plate it up and serve.

Make it naughty: Serve with grated parmesan cheese or add some chopped crispy bacon.

Make it paleo: Serve with zucchini noodles instead of spaghetti (see My Recipe Here)




* Each serving also has eight percent of the daily value of vitamin K, seven percent of the daily value of folate, and four percent of the daily value of vitamins C and E as well as several B vitamins: B6, pantothenic acid, niacin and riboflavin. Avocados also have four percent of the daily value of potassium, two percent of the daily value of the B vitamin thiamin and two percent of the daily value of magnesium. Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/443036-what-are-the-health-benefits-and-nutrients-of-avocados/#ixzz28JA3ztWu

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

YUM looks tasty!!!!