Feeling like summer has zoomed on by much too quickly, I’ve been attempting to make the most of the summer produce before it all disappears. For some inexplicable reason, I’ve only now getting around to the fresh basil.
To use up the whole bunch of basil in one go, I made pesto. Oil-free pesto. I’ve been reading about Andrea’s adventures in oil-free cooking over at her blog, cookeasyvegan and that got me thinking maybe I should try my own experiments in cooking with no oil. I’ve made pesto before but the amount of oil involved always made me cringed a little.
Pesto turns out to be the ideal first thing to try oil-free. Avocado makes up for the missing fat and calories from the usual oil and provides a very smooth and creamy texture. To serve this ultra-healthy pesto sauce, a tri-color vegetable “pasta” – ribbons of king trumpet mushrooms, zucchini, and carrot. Keeping with the no oil theme, I sautéed the mushrooms in a tiny bit of water and added the zucchini and carrot at the very end so they’re barely cooked.
While I’m happy to never add oil to my pesto ever again, I’m not quite convinced on the sautéing with no oil part. Coming from the culture that invented stir-frying, it just doesn’t seem the same without the oil. But maybe reducing the amount of oil to the barest minimum for sautéing is the way to go…
Avocado Pesto
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 medium avocado
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Mash the avocado in a bowl then place in a food processor along with the garlic and lemon juice, process until smooth. Add the basil, salt and nutritional yeast and process to smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides. It might take awhile so keep at it. If necessary, add a bit of water to thin out to desired consistency.
Tri-color Vegetable “Pasta” with Avocado Pesto
Serves 2 as part of a meal
4 large King Oyster mushrooms
1 medium zucchini
1 medium carrot
Cooking oil (optional)
Fresh basil for garnish
Nutritional yeast (optional)
Make the avocado pesto sauce and set aside. Wash and slice the mushrooms thinly into long, flat noodles. Using a Y peeler, peel the zucchini and carrot into long ribbons.
Heat a sauté pan to hot, add a bit of water or oil and then the mushrooms, cook until just tender. If the pan appears too dry, add a small amount of water as needed. Add the zucchini and carrot, tossing to mix. Transfer to a bowl and add a tablespoon or two of pesto sauce. Gently toss to coat. To serve, garnish with the basil and sprinkle nutritional yeast on top if desired.
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I started laughing when I read about your no-oil experiment, but then I started appreciating how you subbed avocado for the oil. What a good idea for making pesto. Even before I cut back on oil, I had trouble eating pesto without feeling a little sick. I’m going to try the avocado! I find when sautéing, it works better with veggie broth, and I have to make sure things like onions and mushrooms are really cooked. Oil has its charms, for sure. Maybe a mix of broth and oil? The vegetable pasta looks so fresh and delicious. I’ve been much too lazy about making veggie noodles. I’m with you as far as keeping summer around goes. I’m not ready for fall and winter.
No oil pesto definitely works, still a work in progress on the no oil sautéing. I like your idea of a mix of broth and oil, I’m going to try that next time. :-)
Equal parts brilliant and beautiful! I love everything about this dish, especially since most traditional pesto is too oily for me anyway. I usually make tons of it at the end of summer and freeze it in cubes for winter, so I’m happy to give your version a spin this time.
Another vote for summer having gone past far too quickly. I didn’t have much of a chance to stop and smell the summer roses – hardly any stone fruit, berries, or melon here. I think the avo basil noodles looks divine – the King trumpet mushrooms in particular sound good there. I hope you get to have more enjoyment from summer food before it all disappears!
Argh, I think my new keyboard just swallowed the comment I posted – apologies if this turns into a duplicate. I’m also having that feeling of summer going by too fast and not having had time to enjoy all the lovely summer fruit and veg – hardly any berries or stone fruit have crossed my lips! I hope you’ll get to enjoy more basil and wondrous things before Autumn steals them away. I think the avo pesto looks divine – particularly the King trumpet mushrooms in the noodles.