Courgetti and butter bean pesto salad,and why you should invest in a spiraliser.

”Courgetti” is the new spaghetti and why I love it

Courgetti WHAT? I hear you say. You can buy gadgets that turn your courgette into spaghetti like spirals. It really is the greatest food invention of the century and any real foodie or health connoisseur will know that it has opened endless possibilities to transform your meals from carb-loaded to carb-free.

What other recipes can I make with courgetti?

Think courgette spaghetti with a creamy carbonara sauce, beautiful raw salads, buddha-bowls full of colour and interesting textures, ramen soups and even veggie burgers. You can buy your courgetti ready prepped at Woolies or you can buy your own little gadget from Yuppiechef

Depending on the type of spiralizer you buy you can spiralize almost anything from carrots to beetroot. If you buy the GEZU range you will mainly be able to spiralize large courgettes and carrots

I developed this recipe for a demonstration and wanted to combine quinoa, courgetti, and pesto. After some research (a.k.a Pinterest stalking) and combining different recipes, I developed this lush green salad. And I would really like to share it with you. This salad is protein packed and is great for a meal, or as a side dish.

Components of this salad

Quinoa [Keen-wah] is a great protein-rich grain but can be tricky to cook and even harder to pronounce. You can also use any other grain like couscous as the base for the salad. Or you can leave out the carbs.

Pesto A great salad needs an epic dressing or sauce to bring it all together. And this pesto has it all. My favourite tool in my kitchen is my Nutribullet and it makes a quick and mean pesto. So if you thought you can only use your Nutribullet for smoothies you have it all wrong. I like to combine different herbs like basil, coriander, and mint in my pestos and I almost never use pine nuts because they are way too expensive. Any nut will do but my favourite is cashews.

Pumpkin seeds For some crunchiness and nutty flavour add toasted pumpkin seeds to finish it off. Toasted seeds can really lift any dish to a new level for extra deliciousness. Pumpkin seeds are also full of magnesium, zinc, plant-based omega-3’s and have anti-inflammatory properties.

Mint, basil, and coriander are the herbs you want to use to add some extra flavour and add any extra green veggies like peas, blanched runner beans or asparagus if they are in season for a burst of colour.

Any tinned beans can be used but I like butter beans.This salad is great as a lunch or a side dish.

Courgette and butter bean pesto salad

• Author: Ankie Niesing
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 6 portions 1x

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Ingredients

Ingredients for Salad

• 3 large Baby marrows (made into spaghetti with spiralizer)
• 1 cup Quinoa (or you can use other grains like cous cous)
• 1 tin Butter beans
• 1 cup Peas (or steamed asparagus)
• 2 tbs Toasted pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup Feta cheese
• Fresh basil and mint
• 1 Stock cube (I like to use Knorr stock pots but homemade stocks are the best if you can manage that)

Ingredients for Pesto

• 1 cup Basil
• 1/2 cup Mint (or coriander)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan (or avocado)
• 1/3 cup Cashew nuts
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 cup Olive oil

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Instructions

1. Place all the ingredients for the pesto in a Nutribullet. Don’t over blend, you still want a bit of texture. Store in a glass jar for at least 3 days.
2. Measure 1 cup of quinoa and place into a sieve. Rinse thoroughly with cold water for about 2 minutes. Rub and swish the quinoa with your hand while rinsing. Drain. This is to get rid of the bitter taste.
3. Bring 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed for 15 to 20 minutes. Let it stand another 5 minutes to steam and then fluff with a fork.
4. Use a spiralizer to make courgette spaghetti or buy ribbons from a supermarket.
5. Roast pumpkin seeds in dry frying pan until they start to pop and crack
6. Make salad. Place cooled quinoa on a large platter, then the courgettes, peas and butter beans. Garnish with feta, pumpkin seeds, and fresh herbs.
   Serve pesto on the side as dressing

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Photo credit: Marsel Roothman (http://www.marselroothman.com/blog/)