St. Patrick’s Day is all about the greens! We love taking advantage of natural greens when celebrating this holiday, so we’ve created a delicious Zucchini Spaghetti with Kale Pesto.
Not only is this green spaghetti a gluten-free alternative to regular pasta, but it’s also low in calories and high in fiber. If you decide to top your Zucchini Spaghetti with our tasty Kale Pesto, you’ll be getting even more nutrition including vitamins A, K, and C, and calcium. Each of these vitamins helps our bodies in different ways:
Vitamin A benefits our vision and skin
Vitamin K helps our bone health and blood clotting
Vitamin C boosts our immune system
Kids Can Help:
- Wash the zucchinis.
- Measure the ingredients for the pesto.
- Sprinkle spaghetti with pomegranate seeds.
Zucchini Spaghetti
Ingredients:
- 4 medium zucchinis (1 zucchini per person)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- pomegranate seeds for garnish (optional)
- Parmesan cheese to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 200°F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
- Using a mandolin slicer or a knife, slice the zucchinis into spaghetti strips.
- Spread the zucchini spaghetti onto the baking sheet. Sweat the noodles in the oven for 30 minutes until the paper towels have absorbed the moisture.
- Remove from oven. To prepare to eat, sauté the chopped onion and garlic in olive oil.
- Add zucchini spaghetti and cook to al dente.
- Toss with kale pesto, Parmesan cheese, and pomegranate seeds.
Kale Pesto
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
- 2 cups baby kale
- 1/3 cup fresh basil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 of a lemon juiced
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions:
- Using a blender or food processor, add ½ cup pine nuts, 2 cups baby kale, 1/3 cup basil, 2 cloves garlic, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and ½ cup olive oil.
- Process until smooth.
~Recipes and photos by Katie Romey, MS, RD, Foodstirs Chef; Text by Jessica Schuster
Returning to our kitchen?