Avocado Pesto

This recipe is blend of Mexican and Italian ingredients and I think it’s a winner. The pesto sauce is really easy to make. I used a gluten-free black bean spaghetti today, but you can use any pasta you like. I thought the avocado would go well with the black bean. This particular recipe ended up being quite spicy, but you can leave out the pepper completely or just use half.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, cut in half

1 serrano pepper, without seeds

1/3 cup grated romano cheese

1 tbsp pine nuts

the juice of half a lemon

1/3 cup parsley

1/4 cup cilantro

1 avocado

2-3 tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

Warm the olive oil in a pan on low heat. Add the garlic and serrano pepper. Allow the flavours to infuse into the olive oil for a few minutes or until the garlic is light brown. Let cool.

Put all of the ingredients in the food processor. Add the garlic/pepper flavoured olive oil too. Add two of the cooked garlic cloves. Don’t add the peppers. Trust me. It will be spicy enough without them.

Blend all the ingredients in the food processor. Put the pesto sauce in a pan and warm it on low heat. Then add the cooked pasta. If the pesto sauce seems a little thick, just add a little warm pasta water. Stir the pasta until it’s the sauce is well incorporated. Top with a little more romano cheese and serve. I added some grilled corn for a little sweet and some tomatoes for a little acid. I think it worked. These two cultures came together beautifully in this dish.

Enjoy!