Here another Italian dish without the real pasta! Just like the Vegetable Lasagna and Cauliflower Pizza. This dinner is full of vegetables and some chicken for the protein. The pasta is replaced with the zucchini and makes it a healthier version than the real pasta pesto. All is very easy to make; I make zucchini spaghetti for a couple of days but of course you can make this for your family and eat it all at once or adjust the quantities.
What ingredients do you need for 3-4 portions of Zucchini Spaghetti with Home-Made Pesto with Mushrooms, Asparagus and Chicken?
- ±1 hour of your time
- Frying pan
- Zucchini spiralizer
- Blender
Ingredients
- Zucchini: 2 pieces cut in spirals with the spiralizer
- Rucola/rocket lettuce: 125 gr
- Pine nuts: 50 gr, roasted
- Pecorino Romano: 100 gr
- Garlic: 4 cloves and cut fine
- Basil: 25 gr
- Olive oil: 4 tablespoons (3 for pesto, 1 for frying)
- Chicken: 400 gr cut in blocks
- Chestnut mushroom: 250 gr, cut in slices
- Green asparagus: 100 gr
- Salt & Pepper
How to make Zucchini Spaghetti?
Start by chopping the mushrooms and cut the chicken into small parts. Cut the ends of the asparagus. And next to this make the zucchini spaghetti with the spiralizer.
I use only one frying pan here. I used it for roasting the pine nuts, frying the chicken and veggies and making the zucchini spaghetti, how efficient is this!
Heat up the frying pan and roast the pine nuts; when they are brown and ready put them in the blender. Add one tablespoon of olive oil to fry the chicken in the frying pan, when half ready add the mushrooms and asparagus. Season with some salt and pepper.
In the meantime make the pesto: put the garlic, roasted pine nuts, 100 gr of rucola/rocket lettuce (leave 25 gr aside for decoration), basil leaves, pecorino cheese and 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the blender and mix to a thick pesto substance. Check and stir the chicken and veggies till ready. Put all on a plate and cover to keep the warmth. In the same pan fry the zucchini spaghetti, not too long the bit must be still there!! Add the pesto in the frying pan and stir all the pesto around the spaghetti.
Start preparing the plates; add some rucola/rocket lettuce on the plate first, divide the spaghetti on the plates and next to this add the chicken and rest of vegetables on top of it. Finish with some basil leaves on top.
If you want to have the vegetarian version of this spaghetti leave out the chicken and add more mushrooms for example.
Buon appetito!!
