Monday night dinners are tough. After a hard day’s work and the shenanigans of a fun-packed weekend, a meal that takes hours to prepare is off the cards. A need for something quick and preferably healthy after an indulgent weekend is a must.

This vegan basil pesto courgetti recipe has it all – healthy, gluten-free, vegan and best of all it’s super quick.

By going meat-free once a week, you will improve your health by reducing your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. As well as saving the planet. Join the Meat-free Monday campaign and try the following recipe.

Tools:

Spiralizer (if you haven’t got one of these a potato peeler will do the trick. Simple peel the courgettes into ribbons)
High speed blender

Ingredients:

2 courgettes (one per person)
10 chopped sun-dried tomatoes
Bag of rocket

For the raw vegan basil pesto:

100g basil (a large bunch)
50g of pine nuts
50g of cashew nuts soaked in filtered water for 20 mins +
The juice of 1 lemon
4 garlic cloves
50 ml of good olive oil
1/2 tsp of salt
1 chilli (optional – depends if you like it hot)
Ground Pepper to taste

Method:

Start by making the pesto. Put all the ingredients into a high-speed blender and pulse for several minutes, remembering to scrape down the sides. Process until combined, leaving a little texture. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, remember that this has to flavour your courgetti so make it punchy).

Moving on to the main event. Use a spiralizer or potato peeler to turn the courgettes into long strips.

Then simply combine the courgetti, basil pesto and chopped sundried tomatoes. Serve immediately with a side of rocket.