Avocado Pasta and other Green Food

I heard recently that this has been one of the coldest spring seasons on record; and truth be told, I believe it. While we definitely made the switch from winter to spring several weeks back, the weather hasn't exactly been balmy. I keep trying definitively to turn off the heat, but end up switching it back on in the cold, drizzly mornings and windy afternoons.

Luckily, however, the somewhat unseasonable weather has not kept everything from turning GREEN! And pink and yellow and red, but mostly, GREEN! I guess this color has somehow worked its way into my sub-conscious, because I have been all over the green food lately.

sauteed greens

green & yellow potato salad 

green (asparagus) soup

And while all of these recipes were good (and actually the potato salad was great) there was one green recipe that stood out among the rest: avocado pasta. I was sort of hesitant to post this, because I, myself have seen this on two other blogs. But I'm posting it anyway, because I really, really enjoyed it. For me, the taste of the avocado sauce is very reminiscent of pesto (must be the basil), minus the over-priced pine nuts. (Seriously, does anyone out there actually pay $7.99 for a teeny pouch of those things??) This is one of those dinners that can come together in twenty minutes or so if you time it right. And I will also throw this out there -- the recipe for this pasta says that it doesn't re-heat well, and I wouldn't know because I didn't try to re-heat it. That being said, I ate it cold the next day and possibly liked it even better.

Ingredients:

-2 medium avocados, pitted & mashed

-1 lemon, juiced (+ zest for topping)

-3-5 garlic gloves (depending on how much garlic you prefer)

-1/2 cup fresh basil

-4 tbsp. olive oil

-1 box of your favorite pasta

-salt and pepper

Directions:

-Cook your pasta according to the package directions (or boil for 8 minutes/until al dente). 

-Meanwhile, place the lemon juice, garlic gloves and olive oil into a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy looking. Add the avocado, basil and a scant teaspoon of salt. Blend again until the texture almost looks whipped.

-Drain the pasta well, and toss with the sauce until all the pasta is coated. Top with lemon zest and black pepper and serve!

If you're at all hesitant just cut the recipe right in half and try two individual servings. If you like avocados, though, I think the chances of you not liking this are pretty low. Enjoy!! xo

Recipe Source: Oh She Glows (great source for vegan recipes!)