What to eat for a light weeknight dinner? This super easy low-carb, keto-friendly clean eat is a great way to savor the delicious, natural flavors of fresh cucumber, basil, garlic, and toasted pine nuts. Enjoy this dish on its own, or top with your favorite lean protein, such as grilled chicken or steamed fish.
You definitely need to acquire a taste for this dish. It is not for everyone! However, if you are a fan of cucumbers and looking for a light version of a dish resembling pasta, this one is for you. You can easily adapt the recipe to zucchini, if you prefer.
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Prep time: 15 minutes / Cook time: na / Servings: 4
For best results, use seedless cucumbers that are at least 1½” thick.
For a shortcut, purchase the noodles already spiralized in your supermarket and/or pick up premade fresh basil pesto.
CUCUMBER NOODLES
Ingredients
4 large firm seedless cucumbers, peeled
½ c. fresh pesto (recipe below)
Sea salt and fresh-cracked pepper, to taste
Special Equipment
Vegetable spiral slicer
Directions
1. Prepare fresh basil pesto (recipe below). Set aside.
2. Using a spiral slicer, cut cucumbers into thick, long noodles.
3. Place cut noodles on paper or clean kitchen towels and gently blot to absorb excess moisture.
4. Place cucumber noodles in a medium, non-reactive bowl and top with fresh pesto.
5. Toss gently to combine. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and serve immediately. Enjoy!
FRESH BASIL PESTO
This versatile favorite is delicious on top of your favorite pasta, gnocchi, or soup. Or simply enjoy it spread across a crusty slice of bread.
Most modern recipes, including this one, call for making pesto with a food processor to combine the ingredients. This method works well but produces a very homogenized final result. For a more traditional approach, try hand-chopping the individual ingredients. The individual components that make up this recipe will be less uniform, resulting in more distinct individual flavors among bites.
Ingredients
2 cups fresh basil, loosely packed
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
2 – 4 garlic cloves, peeled (based on personal taste and strength of garlic variety used)
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Up to 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons really good extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and fresh-cracked pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Remove basil leaves from stems, then wash and pat dry. Add basil, pine nuts, peeled garlic gloves and Parmesan cheese to food processor or blender. Quickly pulse until barely combined, then add up to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (a little at a time) and blend thoroughly until you get to your desired consistency.
2. Add remaining olive oil and/or additional grated Parmesan cheese to achieve the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
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