Mint Pesto... aka The Stuff of the Gods
Over at Haka Fitness, we are a couple weeks into our #HakaFoodChallenge. It's a super simple call out for people to get motivated in the kitchen and a surprisingly effective inspirational tool. Basically, each week we have an ingredient of the week. The goal is to use that ingredient in a new recipe or preparation. Participants post a picture of what they tried in the Facebook Group and give a review. It's unbelievable how creative everyone gets and all the recipe reviews give you tons of ideas for new stuff to try! Anyone can join at any time, if it sounds like something you would enjoy :-)
But I digress... The ingredient for the week was Spaghetti Squash. It's pretty tricky to do much that is new (and not so totally weird) with spaghetti squash. I started with THIS recipe but whoever created it clearly did not try it out for real because it was disastrous. I did manage to greatly alter the recipe with a second 1/2 C of cheese (parmesan for this half cup), another egg and 1/4 C Yucca flour/tapioca flour. We ended up with savory pancakes that really are pretty yummy. Whew!
I still had a Spaghetti Squash left. I started rummaging around the fridge, the pantry, and the garden. Suddenly, the clouds opened and the dinner angels shone down from the heavens above. Mint Pesto! Spaghetti Squash with some shrimp or scallops and some mint pesto would be perfect! I combined lots of fresh mint, some fresh parsley, some roasted garlic, a little lemon zest, olive oil and.... wait for it..... roasted and salted pistachios. I dipped in my finger and OH MY GOD! I started spreading it on everything, literally everything- some cold sausage, some salmon my son was eating, some avocado, and the above mentioned Spaghetti Squash Fritter pancake thingy majigies. In short, I used spaghetti squash in TWO new ways and changed my whole life with this mint pesto. I hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients:
2/3 C Fresh Mint
1/4 C Fresh Parsley ( I used curly but I don't think it matters really)
2 cloves garlic (mine was roasted from the day before but I'm sure it'd be fine either way)
Zest of 1 small lemon
1/2 C Pistachios, roasted and salted
HIGH QUALITY Olive Oil, somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 C
Put everything in the blender, starting with just 1/4 C Olive oil. Blend at high speed until smooth. If it doesn't completely come together, add a bit more olive oil until it does. That's it! Try it on seafood, lamb, chicken, pork.... or Squash Pancake thingy majigies... hahaha!
