Recipe and image by Emma Galloway
This is the perfect way to use up all that beautiful summer produce. The courgettes add bulk and a delicate sweetness to this simple pesto. For a dairy-free/vegan version, omit parmesan and add 1–2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast instead.
Serves 4
2 medium courgettes, sliced into 1cm rounds
250g cherry tomatoes
olive oil, salt and pepper
2 tbsp lightly toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds
2 cloves garlic
juice ½ lemon
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese + extra shavings to serve, optional
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves + extra to serve
250g dried penne pasta (I use Ceres gluten-free quinoa penne)
Preheat oven to 180°C. Place sliced courgettes onto a lipped baking tray/roasting dish, drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper and roast 15–20 minutes or until golden and tender. Halve cherry tomatoes, place on another tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and roast 20–25 minutes or until slightly dried but still juicy in the centre. Remove both trays from the oven when done and set aside.
Once courgettes have cooled, transfer three-quarters of it to a food processor (reserving some to toss through the pasta), along with the toasted pine nuts/almonds, garlic, lemon juice, parmesan and basil. Blend until a chunky pesto forms. Season to taste.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to packet instructions. Once cooked, reserve half a cup of cooking water before draining pasta into a colander. Stir through pesto, reserved roasted courgette and roasted tomatoes. Add a touch of the reserved cooking water to loosen the pesto pasta a touch, if needed. Serve topped with extra basil leaves and parmesan shavings, if desired.
Leftovers store well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
