Delicious Creamy Pesto “Pasta”
Gluten- & Dairy-Free, WLC Approved
This is a delicious dish, so full of flavor that you won’t mind at all that it doesn’t contain wheat pasta. It is grain- and gluten-free, dairy-free, Paleo, Primal and compliant for Whole Life Challenge. (Should I add any more labels? It’s egg-free, soy-free, sugar-free… 
)
I based this on a recipe I found inside a Healthy Surprise box (which I’ll be reviewing soon). You can find ideas in the craziest places. I’m particularly proud of this one as it contains two ingredients I’ve just recently started playing around with: coconut aminos and nutritional yeast.
Creamy Pesto Pasta
*3 12-oz. packages kelp noodles
*2 big handfuls basil (See picture below.)
*1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
*1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
*3/4 cup filtered water
*2-3 cloves garlic
*1 tsp. sea salt (or to taste)
*3 Tbsp. coconut aminos
*3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
*2 cups crispy cashews (Feel free to experiment using a blend of different nuts and seeds.)*Optional toppings: Chopped sundried tomatoes, chopped artichoke hearts, sliced Kalamata olives, shredded Pecorino Romano or other hard cheese (obviously not if you’re dairy-free), chopped crispy nuts or toasted pine nuts, sliced or shredded chicken (read this to see why I always have this on hand), cooked shrimp (I always have these cooked small shrimp in my freezer for last-minute meals), cooked salmon fillet… Whatever strikes your fancy!
Set a large stockpot of water on the stove to boil. Meanwhile, drain the bags of kelp noodles. When water is boiling, use kitchen shears
to roughly cut the noodle tangles into about thirds and add them to the boiling water. (This just makes the noodles more manageable for tossing and eating.) Boil for about 15 minutes while you prepare the sauce. (The noodles don’t need to be cooked and don’t change texture. I just prefer to serve sauces with hot noodles.)
Add the basil into the blender. As you can (maybe) see in this picture, mine came just past the 4-cup mark, not packed down at all. On top of the basil, add the lemon juice, olive oil, water, garlic cloves, sea salt, coconut aminos, nutritional yeast and crispy cashews. Blend on high until smooth. Taste and add salt if needed.
Drain kelp noodles, return to pot and put heat on low. Mix in enough sauce to coat the noodles to your preference and toss well.
Plate the noodles and top with a bit of additional sauce. (Or you can just toss all the sauce and all the noodles. Whatever you want.)
Eat as is, or top with any combination of the optional toppings.
This recipe would probably work well with spaghetti squash or even Miracle Noodles
What’s your favorite alternative to pasta?
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Bummer, I just ran out of kelp noodles! I’m buying more now just so I can try this. Will let you know how it goes!
Doesn’t it always happen that way? I just ran out of flax seed, and have come across about ten recipes that contain it that I want to try…
Sounds delish!