Pesto with sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts

 I have had a lot of requests for the recipe of the pesto spaghetti that was served at the workshop my daughter and I hosted last weekend in Memphis. This would have to be one of my favorite raw dishes, and can be made in less than 10 minutes. In order for you to make the raw zucchini pasta you will need to purchase a spaghetti spiraler.

I purchased mine through Amazon for around $29.00. (Also kids love to watch and help spiral fruits and vegetables)
I spiral one zucchini for every person.
Pesto
2 cups of fresh organic basil (stems removed tightly packed)
1/4 cup of  olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup of organic pine nuts

Place all ingredients in food processor except nuts and pulse till completely processed.
Soak pine nuts for about 10-15 min and rinse before adding to food processor.
Add soaked and rinsed nuts to basil mix and pulse till done.

Mix pesto with 2 large zucchini spiraled and add sun dried tomatoes and cut up artichoke hearts and toss. (the amount of sun dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts is totally up to the individual.)

Top with cracked pepper /Serves 2-4 people

For those who want Parmesan, grate raw cheese on top.

If you are not a big pesto fan, you can could make a marinara sauce instead.

In a blender or food processor with an S blade add:

1 organic red pepper

1 organic tomato

1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes(soak for 15-20 min before adding)

1-2 cloves of garlic chopped up

1/3 cup of dry basil (or to taste, more or less)

oregano to taste

salt

pepper

I throw all of this into my blender and blend into a liquid. Then put over spiraled pasta.

Raw zucchini is a rich source of antioxidants, fiber, calcium and beta carotene.

The pine nuts are an excellent source of  iron and vitamin D.

If you don't have a spiraler or you aren't ready to buy one, try grating your zucchini with a cheese grater. You won't get the true spaghetti noodle but you can will get the same taste.

Let me know what you think.

Until next time,

Jan