Easy Zucchini Pesto

INGREDIENTS (Serves: 1 Jar)

2 cup zucchini, shredded
2-3 Tbsp. pine nuts
1 cup fresh basil leaves
½ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 clove garlic minced
½ tsp. Salt
2 dashes black pepper
¼ cup + 3 Tbsp. olive oil

STEPS

1. Grate the zucchini then place in a sieve over a bowl toss with ¼ teaspoon of salt and let drain for about 30 minutes;
2. In a blender or food processor, add zucchini (do not rinse), pine nuts, basil, parmesan; cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, and half the olive oil;
3. Blennd or pulse just to combine;
4. Add the remaining oil and blend/pulse until creamy;
5. Place pesto in a clean jar and refrigerate or use immediately.

TIPS

1. Zucchini, like cucumber contains a lot of water. The first step drains the excess water from the zucchini to prevent the pesto from being too watery. The ½ tsp. salt helps drain the zucchini, but will not add too much taste to it, therefore there is no need to rinse the zucchini before putting into the blender / food processor, this will add back the extra water that was drained from the zucchini,
2. Substitute parmesan cheese with nutritional yeast to make this a vegan pesto.
3. For vegan option you can substitute pine nuts with hemp seeds to increase protein content. Hemp seed contain all essential amino acids, making it a good protein source for vegan diet.

WELLNESS TIPS

1. Zucchini has multiple health benefits. Its high vitamin A content protects eyes and aid with vision.
2. Zucchini pasta, a popular substitute for regular grain-based pasta, help control carbohydrate intake and thus control blood glucose.
3. It also help with lowering “bad” cholesterol.
4. Other than vitamin A zucchini is also high in vitamin B, manganese, magnesium, and potassium

Recipe adapted from: https://anitalianinmykitchen.com/zucchini-pesto/