The Pasta Paradox

 
I think I should start with a small warning:

Any Italian Mamas be aware that the following post contains content which you may find sacrilegious and disturbing. I assume no liability for any mild heart attacks suffered or broken computer screens resulting from an angry whack with a rolling pin. Read at your own risk.

Phew. OK, the law student in me (or ex-student actually, had my graduation earlier this week! Yay!) is feeling satisfied enough to proceed.

This particular post is in response to a request from a friends of mine (* I'm waving at you Dayna!*) who, after seeing some of my recent recipes for healthy raw snacks (see them here and here), was after some savoury meal ideas.


A couple of years ago when the raw food craze was once again becoming trendy the number of bloggers posting adventurous and creative natural recipes seemed to explode! Along with the subsequent emergence of Raw cafes featuring staff with slightly tousled hair, progressive Uni degrees and pants made entirely from hemp ( not to stereotype or anything...) one of the best things to come out of this craze for me has been raw pasta. 






I enjoy the authentic pasta experience as much as the next person, but as someone who wears skinny jeans I also like to be able to enjoy my everyday meals without any nagging guilt souring the taste. Raw pasta provides a great compromise! Essentially it is made by cutting raw vegetables such as zucchini, pumpkin or carrot into thin "noodles" and smothering it in any assortment of delicious sauces.


I know many people are immediately turned off by the thought of using raw veggies in the place of traditional carby-pasta, but I promise you it really is a delicious alternative and in most cases the subtle taste of the noodle is covered by the sauce. Plus, for those of us in the warmed climates, when you grow sick of the traditional summer salads and BBQ you need look no further than these noodle wannabes for a light and refreshing meal.  

My Raw Pasta tasting plate

 Here are three recipes I came up with which are totally raw, healthy and delicious! Please excuse the terrible photography, they actually taste 100 x better than my crappy iPhone made them look!



Each serves one LARGE portion or a couple of smaller plates.

Raw Pasta With Salsa Verde

2 zucchinis
1/4 cup cashews



1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup basil, shredded
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp capers
1 tsp fresh lemon juice 
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup sliced black olives
Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved 
Salt and pepper to season 


Using a veggie peeler, cut the zucchinis into thin ribbons and place in a large bowl.

In a food processor blend the nuts, basil, parsley, capers, lemon and garlic into a paste and slowly add enough oil to forms a loose sauce

Add the sauce to the zucchini along with the olives and cherry tomatoes and season to taste.

Stir well to ensure all the zucchini noodles are covered 

Enjoy!

Raw Pasta With Creamy Avocado

2 zucchinis
2 tsp diced red onion
1/2 an avocado
1 cucumber, peeled and deseeded 
1 cup cashews 
1 tsp lemon juice 
1 tbsp almond milk
5 small red radishes, sliced 
1 tsp of fresh thyme leaves 

Salt and Pepper 






Using a veggie peeler, cut the zucchinis into thin ribbons and place in a large bowl.

In a food processor blend the red onion, avocado, cucumber, cashews, lemon juice and almond milk until smooth and creamy.

Combine the sauce with the zucchini and add the sliced radishes and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Sprinkle with the fresh thyme and enjoy!  

Raw Pasta With Punchy Tomato 

2 zucchinis
1/3 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (reserve 1 tsp of its marinating oil)
1/2 cup cashews 
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp red onion, diced
1/3 cup sliced black olives '
Salt and Pepper 





Using a veggie peeler, cut the zucchinis into thin ribbons and place in a large bowl.

In a food processor blend the sun dried tomatoes and reserved oil, red onion, cashews and lemon juice until you have a mostly smooth paste (a couple of small chunks are ok).

Add the paste to the zucchini along with the olives and season to taste with salt and pepper.