Avocado pesto, shrimp and summer vegetable pasta.
Oh pasta! one of the staples in my house! Pasta is so simple to make, so much fun to eat and just so so sooooo DELICIOUS! ( can you tell I like pasta?). I like to switch up my sauces quite often, and now that it is summer my new favourite is pesto! It is so herbaceous, light and summery.
Recently I’ve been playing around with a lot of different pesto recipes, and I’ve finally made one that I am truly obsessed with! I give you: AVOCADO PESTO. Realistically I’m obsessed with any food that contains avocado in it.. haha. I have made this pesto 5 times in the past two weeks, yes 5! It has become a favourite around my house, and it’s equally as good on zucchini noodles as it is on pasta!
With this delicious and creamy avocado pesto I added an array of summer vegetables and some organic shrimp. i find that the combination of the creamy avocado pesto, the juicy sweet shrimp and the crisp fresh veggies is just heavenly… I’m serious I could probably eat this pasta another 5 times this week, which is probably not the best idea but hey, a girl can always dream!
For the sauce:
▪ 2 ripe avocados
▪ 1 cup basil… make sure to fill that cup as much as possible
▪ 1/4 cup avocado oil
▪ 1/4 cup water
▪ Juice and Zest of 1 big lemon
▪ 2 tbsp pine nuts toasted
▪ 2 cloves of garlic
▪ 1 tbsp honey
▪ salt and pepper to taste
For the pasta:
▪ 1 bag penne pasta ( regular or gluten free pasta alternative)
▪ 1lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
▪ 2 ears of corn
▪ 2 zucchini
▪ 1 bulb of fennel
▪ two large handfuls of grape tomatoes (about 20…give or take)
▪ 1 tbsp olive oil
▪ 2 cloves garlic
▪ 2 tsp chilis flakes (optional depending on your desired level of spice)
▪ salt and pepper
Directions:
▪ In a blender place all ingredients for the sauce, making sure to roughly chop the garlic so it blends easily. Blend until smooth, or to a more coarse consistency if desired.
▪ Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salting it generously. Cook pasta until al dente (to the tooth), which means the pasta should still have a nice chew to it without being mushy.
▪ In a large sauté pan, gently heat olive oil, garlic and chilis. Throw in shrimp and sauté until pink and cooked, about 4 minutes.
▪ Remove shrimp, and set aside. In the same sauté pan throw in fennel, zucchini and corn, cook lightly until zucchini and fennel are slightly tender and corn is a deeper shade of yellow.
▪ Finally, in the same pan add back the shrimp, pasta and grape tomatoes, gently warm the pasta back up and mix it in with all the veggies. Turn off the heat and add as much avocado pesto as desired. If you like it saucy use all of it, trust me it’s delicious
▪ Top with lemon zest and fresh basil. Enjoy!!
Grove Wellness | Almonte, Ontario 
Boy does this look inviting!
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