Name: Zucchini pasta with fresh basil and cherry tomatoes
Prep time: 380 min
Total time: 380 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Raw parmesan cheese; 3/4 cup raw cashews, macadamias or pine nuts, soaked for 2-3 hours, rinsed; 1/4 cup filtered water; 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice; 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast; 1/4 teaspoon sea salt; Pasta sauce; 14 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 3 hours and rinsed thoroughly; 2 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped; 1 handful flat-leaf parsley; 1 1/2 clove garlic, roughly chopped; 3 dates, pitted; 1/4 cup good-quality cold-pressed olive oil; 1 pinch cayenne or a small chilli; sea salt, to taste; 4 1/2 medium zucchinis (yellow or green); 3 tablespoon good-quality cold-pressed olive oil; 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice; 1 pinch sea salt; 1 handful fresh basil, torn; 3 handfuls baby spinich or rocket; 1/4 cup whole green or black olives, pitted, sliced; 1 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Ingredients

Raw parmesan cheese

3/4 cup raw cashews, macadamias or pine nuts, soaked for 2-3 hours, rinsed

1/4 cup filtered water

2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Pasta sauce

14 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 3 hours and rinsed thoroughly

2 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 handful flat-leaf parsley

1 1/2 clove garlic, roughly chopped

3 dates, pitted

1/4 cup good-quality cold-pressed olive oil

1 pinch cayenne or a small chilli

sea salt, to taste

4 1/2 medium zucchinis (yellow or green)

3 tablespoon good-quality cold-pressed olive oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 pinch sea salt

1 handful fresh basil, torn

3 handfuls baby spinich or rocket

1/4 cup whole green or black olives, pitted, sliced

1 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Method

Raw parmesan cheese

1.Put the soaked nuts, water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and sea salt in a high-speed blender (for a small amount like this you could also use a stick blender or the spice mill attachment on a food processor).

2.Blend on high until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary (a little texture is fine so don’t worry if you can’t get it super-smooth).

3.Add more salt or lemon juice to taste; you want it to have a mild cheesiness because the flavour will intensify as it dries.

4.Spread mixture thinly on a dehydrator sheet (I use a Paraflexx one) and place in the dehydrator overnight at 41°C. Peel cheese from sheet and store in a sealed container in the fridge

Pasta sauce

5.Place all sauce ingredients, except sea salt, in a blender. Put the tomatoes in first as the liquid will aid the blending process.

6.Blend until smooth then add sea salt to taste, pulsing to combine. The sauce will keep in the fridge for several days if you want to make a double batch for other dishes; it’s great, too, on regular, cooked pasta.

Zucchini pasta with fresh basil and cherry tomatoes

7.To make raw pasta you need to create spirals out of the zucchini. At Little Bird Café, we use a Benriner horizontal slicer, but if you don’t have a vegetable spiraliser you can use a mandoline to julienne them, or a peeler to cut wide strips which can then be julienned with a knife (this will make straight pasta, though, not spirals).

8.Place zucchini spirals in a bowl and mix gently with the oil, lemon juice and sea salt. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

9.Drain pasta and mix with basil, greens, olives and cherry tomatoes. Place in a serving bowl, top with pasta sauce and crumbled parmesan (if using). Season generously with cracked black pepper and serve.

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Ingredients

Method

Raw parmesan cheese

Pasta sauce

Zucchini pasta with fresh basil and cherry tomatoes

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