Courgette pasta with spicy kale and coriander pesto

We've always eaten healthy food but since going vegan I've become increasingly more aware of the quality of the food we eat. This means eating raw where possible, microwaving less, and definitely avoiding refined foods and foods high in sugar. One recipe that has always intrigued me is raw courgette pasta. Feeling very doubtful, I decided to buy a julienne veg peeler to make the pasta with and give it a go. Here's the one I got:

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/16956/Chefn-3-in-1-Vegetable-Peeler

I wanted to buy a cheaper one (for 3 quid) but they didn't have it in stock. I am glad though because this one is absolutely brilliant! Anyway, I have tried this recipe several times now and this one I think is rather special :)

Note: Some people absolutely despise coriander. Apparently this is genetic. If you're one of these people just omit the coriander. I absolutely love the stuff!

http://www.nature.com/news/soapy-taste-of-coriander-linked-to-genetic-variants-1.11398

Courgette pasta with spicy kale and coriander pesto, serves 1-4

1 medium-large size courgette per person

A few roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes (from a jar or make your own, recipe here: http://possumology.blogspot.co.uk/2012_09_01_archive.html)

For the pesto:

125g (about 4 cups) of fresh curly kale, washed

small bunch of fresh coriander, washed

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

2 tbsp ground almonds

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

2/3 tsp smoked sea salt

1 tsp chilli flakes

juice of half a lime

Sprinkling of almond parmesan (recipe borrowed from http://thesimpleveganista.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/a-sprinkling-we-go-almond-parmesan.html). I’ve adapted it to make a smaller batch just enough for up to 4 people:

Generous tbsp of ground almonds

2 tsp nutritional yeast flakes

Pinch of salt

Pinch of garlic granules

Blitz all the pesto ingredients in a food processor and set aside. Mix the parmesan ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Wash the courgette (no need to peel) and cut into long, thin spaghetti strands using a julienne veg peeler. Pile up on a plate, add a generous dollop of the pesto, sprinkle on parmesan and drizzle with a few drops of olive oil. Garnish with the sun-dried tomatoes.

If you have any pesto left over, store it in a small jam jar in the fridge for up to a week. You can use it in your sandwiches. 

Note: Kale is packed full of lutein, a naturally occurring carotenoid found mainly in green, leafy vegetables like kale, spinach and broccoli, and orange vegetables and plants like corn, nasturtium and marigolds. (Last year my allotment friend let me have a whole load of his nasturtium flowers and I used them in salads. They taste just like rocket (peppery and pungent) and really liven up salads with their bright orange/red colour).

Why am I telling you about lutein? I am currently coming to the end of my PhD looking at the effect of lutein (which forms the macular pigment within the retina) on retinal ageing. Within the retina the macular pigment acts in two ways: as an antioxidant and a blue-light filter. Increased level of the macular pigment has been found to reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and in some cases improve vision in patients with AMD. So there you go, for healthy eyes eat your greens :)