Make Ahead

Zucchini with Almond Basil Pesto

by:
June 30, 2011
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0 Ratings
Zucchini with Almond Basil Pesto
  • Makes one serving (and enough pesto for more salads)
Author Notes

Thanks to Merrill's tutorial on almond flour and butter I now have a bit of homemade almond butter. Paired with fresh zucchini and fresh basil just picked from the garden, I've made a nice little zucchini salad for one. The addition of good quality extra virgin olive oil and parmigiano reggiano really makes it special. The pesto makes much more than needed for one salad serving...just double, triple or quadruple the salad ingredients to feed more. —inpatskitchen

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For the pesto
  • 1/4 cup almond butter
  • 1 to 2 cloves garlic (I like 2)
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • For the salad
  • 1 small zucchini, about 8 inches long
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon of the almond basil pesto
  • 2 tablespoons very finely diced red onion
  • 5 or 6 parmigiano reggiano shavings
  • Salt and pepper for seasoning if desired
Directions
  1. For the pesto
  2. Place all ingredients in a mini food processor or blender and process until smooth.
  1. For the salad
  2. With a vegetable peeler peel strips along the length of the zucchini about 1/2 inch wide, peeling until you come to the seedy part. Include the dark green peel. (Or use a spiralizer if you have one)
  3. Place the zucchini in a colander, toss with the 1/2 teaspoon salt and let rest for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, rinse the zucchini thoroughly and place on paper towels and pat as dry as possible.
  4. Place the zucchini on the center of a salad plate and drizzle with a tablespoon of the pesto.
  5. Top with the red onion and cheese shavings. Salt and pepper if desired.
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  • inpatskitchen
    inpatskitchen
  • gingerroot
    gingerroot
  • Patricia Carr
    Patricia Carr
  • Dleebird
    Dleebird
inpatskitchen

Recipe by: inpatskitchen

I think I get my love for food and cooking from my mom, who was an amazing cook. She would start baking and freezing a month before Christmas in order to host our huge open house on Christmas afternoon. I watched and I learned...to this day I try not to procrastinate when it comes to entertaining. My cooking style is pretty much all over the place, although I'm definitely partial to Greek and Italian cuisine. Oh yes, throw a little Cajun in there too!

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6 Reviews

Patricia C.
Patricia C. December 18, 2014
This was delicious. I think I'll include it on my Christmas table as we tend to have cold Christmas lunch since it's our summer 'down under'.
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen December 18, 2014
So glad you enjoyed! Thank you and Merry Christmas!!
 
Dleebird
Dleebird November 27, 2014
So where is the tutorial on almond butter? This is a good resource site, but the searching algorithm? Not so much
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen November 27, 2014
Hi Dieebird! Here's the article I used: https://food52.com/blog/2228-how-to-make-almond-meal-and-butter
I searched "almond butter" in articles and scrolled down until I found it.
 
inpatskitchen
inpatskitchen July 7, 2011
Thank you gingerroot.....I really love shaved zucchini salads in the summer and the almond pesto adds a new dimension
 
gingerroot
gingerroot July 7, 2011
This sounds delicious! I can't eat peanuts but love almonds and often sub them when peanuts are called for.