22/07/2018

Courgetti in avocado, cashew & basil sauce with roasted tomatoes

Name: Courgetti in Avocado, Cashew & Basil Sauce with Roasted Tomatoes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Ingredients: 160 g tomatoes (cherry or medium tomatoes) (halved or quartered); 2 tsp balsamic vinegar; salt & pepper to taste; 0.5 tbsp olive oil; 1 large ripe avocado (peeled, stone discarded); 1 lemon (juice only); 40 g broken cashews; 1 clove garlic (peeled & chopped); 1 tbsp olive oil; 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 1 handful basil leaves; salt & pepper to taste; water as needed (start with a splash); 2 medium courgettes (approx 320g) (topped & tailed); 2 tsp olive oil; salt & pepper to taste; 1 tbsp hemp seeds ((optional)); Drizzle of olive oil ((optional)); basil leaves, shredded ((optional))

Courgetti in Avocado, Cashew & Basil Sauce with Roasted Tomatoes is a super-quick, plant-based bowl of goodness.

Much lighter than traditional pasta sauce, the dressing goes excellently with spaghetti-like courgette strands. Hence the term ‘courgetti’.

Perfect for a light lunch or dinner, this meal contains at least 3 portions of fruits and vegetables per person. Serve it with a big salad and a piece of fruit for pudding and you’ve hit your minimum 5 a day at one sitting.

Jump to Recipe

It’s not surprising that pasta and sauce became a staple meal in Britain in a very short time, as it can be so quick to cook. However, it’s now starting to look like the advice to build meals around starchy carbohydrates like pasta has, along with the proliferation of ultra-processed food, been to the detriment of our health.

Add to that the fact that most people in Britain are still struggling to eat the minimum 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, and it seems clear that something has to change. No longer can we kid ourselves that a big bowl of pasta covered in a salt and sugar-filled sauce from a jar or packet is doing us much good at all.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should never eat pasta and a good, homemade sauce. I just prefer to eat that occasionally and instead base most meals during the week around lots of fruit and veg plus some dairy, eggs, fish and meat. For a really good, special occasion or weekend pasta dish, take a look at my post for Pork, Veal & Fennel Meatballs in Tomato, Vegetable & Pancetta Sauce. However, delicious as that recipe is, it’s not the sort of thing it’s sensible to eat every day.

For a weekday lunch or dinner, I think that Courgetti in Avocado, Cashew & Basil Sauce with Roasted Tomatoes is ideal. It’s packed with 3-4 portions of fruit and vegetables per person, is really tasty and, if you make the sauce and prep the courgettes while the tomatoes are roasting in the oven, I reckon you could have it on the table in 20-25 minutes.

Zoodles or Courgetti?

I first came across using vegetables instead of pasta and noodles on US food blogs. There, the term ‘zoodles’ was used for zucchini (that’s courgettes to Brits like me), spiralized into long noodles. But I’ll never think of courgettes as zucchini!

I also prefer to use my julienne peeler rather than having to find room for a spiralizer in my already over-stocked kitchen cupboards. The julienne peeler makes quite fine strands of vegetable which makes the name ‘courgetti’ (courgette spaghetti) quite neat, I think.

A julienne peeler is also much cheaper than a spiralizer and I find lots of uses for it.

I never grate carrots any more as they’re much nicer julienned and seem to give out less water too. Take a look at my recipe for Vietnamese-style Pho with Beef Brisket & Vegetable Noodles to see how julienned veg can take the place of rice or egg noodles in a tasty soup.

Just be careful to protect your fingers with a julienne peeler as they really are incredibly sharp.

In this recipe, I soften the courgetti in a little in olive oil over a medium heat. I only do this for 2-3 minutes as I still want them to have bite, like al dente spaghetti.

QUICK ROASTED TOMATOES

As this tasty dish is so quick to make, get your tomatoes prepped first and in the oven. You can use any sort of tomato (a range of colours would be nice if you can get them), just half cherry tomatoes and cut larger tomatoes in quarters or eigths. I drizzle the cut tomatoes with a little balsamic vinegar, olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

You want to get a bit of charring on the tomatoes as this adds flavour. But avoid overcooking and making them sloppy. Roasting in a high oven (220C) is best and they should be done in 10 minutes or so, depending on their size.

AVOCADO, CASHEW & BASIL SAUCE

For the sauce, you just whizz everything up in a blender, food processor with a stick blender. Avocado, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cashews, balsamic vinegar, a splash of water, basil leaves plus salt and pepper to taste.

Once you have a smooth sauce, give it a taste and add a little more seasoning, balsamic or lemon if you think it needs it. If you want a thinner sauce then add a little more water and/or olive oil.

SERVING & VARIATIONS

To put the dish together, all you do is stir the avocado, cashew and basil sauce into the warm courgetti, before transferring to bowls. The roasted tomatoes go on top, along with any tomatoey juices from the baking tray; don’t waste any of that delicious flavour.

For texture and nutrition, I like to sprinkle a few seeds over the top such as hemp seeds. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and scatter over some shredded basil leaves if you like. For lunch or a light dinner I just serve it like that, but a fresh, leafy salad on the side is good if you want a larger meal. A cereal bowl-sized salad will also provide another portion of vegetables.

If you wanted to make this even quicker or turn it into a completely raw meal, you can skip the sauteeing stage and just stir the sauce through the julienned courgettes before topping with chopped, fresh tomatoes instead of roasted ones.

You can also use the quickly made avocado, cashew and basil sauce in other dishes. Add more liquid to use it as a dressing over roasted veg, or reduce the liquid and add more cashews for a tasty dip to serve with crudite.

Try adding different herbs to vary the flavour. Mint is a great favourite of mine, or how about coriander, lime and red chilli to take it in an Asian direction? Swapping the cashews for peanuts, or even peanut butter, would go well with Asian flavours too.

NOT A POOR SUB FOR PASTA

When I was developing the recipe for Courgetti in Avocado, Cashew & Basil Sauce with Roasted Tomatoes I guess in the back of my mind was the idea that, although I was sure it would result in a tasty dish, it couldn’t really ever be a substitute for ‘proper’ pasta and sauce but replacing the starchy carbs with vegetables was desirable from a health point of view. However, now having eating it lots of times, I think it’s a fabulous dish in its own right and it certainly doesn’t feel like I’m depriving myself when I happily tuck into a satisfying bowlful.

Whether you’re aiming to reduce your intake of starchy carbs, increase the number of fruit and vegetable portions you eat, or just want a really tasty dish that can be made quickly, I think you’ll really love Courgetti in Avocado, Cashew & Basil Sauce with Roasted Tomatoes.