Fall has arrived and regretfully I did fall off the bandwagon for my blog. The whole month of August, I had an endless stream of guests and was working full time at Harlem Children Zone as a Culinary/ Nutrition Educator.
I introduced the high schoolers to recipes that were easy and nutritious, but I did receive a lot of push back. Students wanted foods they were used to, but I did try pushing them out of their comfort zone.
I did a survey at the end of the summer to list the recipes from 1-10. The recipe that was liked by the majority was the whole wheat bagel mini pizzas and oat and blueberry pancakes, next was the nut free pesto pasta. The recipe that was the least popular was the black bean and corn salsa.
The pesto pasta was made with fresh basil that was grown in the out door rooftop garden and had fresh spinach leaves, Parmesan cheese and garlic. The pesto can be made in advance and frozen for a quick meal. It can be used with pasta or fish.
Basil is a great herb with a lot of flavor and nutrients, it is rich in Vitamin A, vitamin K, Vitamin C, magnesium, iron, potassium and calcium.
Basil’s proposed benefits include reducing inflammation, it is said to have anti-aging and antibacterial properties. I have discussed the benefits of spinach and garlic in previous blogs. The recipe is below.
Nut Free Pesto pasta salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 4 cups spinach leaves
- 2 cups basil
- 2 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon chilly flakes
- 16 oz whole wheat fusilli pasta
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella small balls
- Fresh basil for garnish
Method
Place the first 8 ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend till smooth. Boil the pasta according to directions then drain.
Add 3/4 cup of the pesto and stir until the pasta is well coated. Stir in the tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. Season to taste.