Spaghetti With Pistachio Pesto

Spaghetti with Pistachio Pesto is a great dish for serving hot or cold. The shreds of zucchini just magically disappear while providing great texture and taste plus added nutrients. All you need to complete the meal is some fresh crusty bread and a crisp salad.

8 Main Dish Servings Each serving as prepared below contains about: 370 Calories; 12 g Protein; 49 g Carbohydrates; 14 g Fat; and 8.5 g Fiber.

Ingredients:

1 lb dry Spaghetti
1/2 recipe Pistachio Pesto
3 Medium Zucchini, grated
1 roasted Red Bell Pepper, cut into strips
2 cups Steamed Green Beans
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Whole or coarsely chopped Pistachios, for garnish

Method:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

While the water is heating for spaghetti, prepare the pesto and the vegetables. Mix the grated zucchini and pesto together. Stir in roasted pepper, the green beans, salt, pepper and the Parmesan cheese.

I like to break the spaghetti in 3rds so they are manageable to eat. Stir the spaghetti into the boiling water; bring to a boil again and turn off heat and cover. Let them sit undisturbed for about 8 minutes; test to see that they are cooked al dente - tender yet firm to the bite. Drain well and stir into the vegetable-pesto mixture. Mix well and serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.

Serve hot, cold, or at room temperature garnished with the whole or chopped pistachio nuts sprinkled on top and additional freshly ground black pepper.

Note: Regular or spinach linguine, angel hair or your favorite noodles can be used in place of the spaghetti. Feel free to substitute your favorite vegetables for the green beans and red bells too. To serve cool as a salad, when the noodles are ready, drain and then stir in 1 cup of cold water to stop the cooking and drain well again. (If the spaghetti is not ready to be stirred into the pesto mixture right away, stir in 1 Tbsp of the olive oil to coat the noodles well so that they do not clump together.)