walnut pesto squashghetti over white beans, with fried eggplant and summer salad

This recipe is a great alternative to boring pasta, especially if you are gluten-free or trying to eat a bit healthier. Just make sure to use the best and most fresh ingredients you can get your hands on, it makes the world of difference. 

walnut pesto squashghetti over white beans, with fried eggplant and summer salad

what you need:

warning: this is easier and less ingredient heavy than the list of ingredients looks-trust me. Just make sure to over view the whole recipe and time yourself accordingly, there are parts of this that can be done well in advanced but overall it should take you about 1.5 hours to complete start to finish and will serve 2-4 people (depending on appetites)

Cannellini beans:

Step 1: Sort your beans, rinse and throw into a pot of boiling salted water, cook till tender about 1 hour. 

Step 2: Once done drain water, toss beans with S&P and a bit of Olive Oil. (set aside)

no-sun dried tomatoes

as many tomatoes you can get your hands on

good quality EVOO

S&P

Step 1: Slice tomatoes length wise place on a lightly EVOO'd baking sheet and cover with S&P and more EVOO (sorry about all the abbr.) bake in the oven 300˚ oven for about an hour. 

done

Step 2: Once they are cooked put in a jar and cover with a good quality Olive Oil.

fin.

while beans and tomatoes are cooking start the pesto

walnut pesto

1 C. packed fresh basil leaves

3 cloves garlic-pealed

1/2 C. Walnuts

1/4-1/2 C. good quality EVOO

1/8 C. Parmigiano-Reggiano

1/2 T. lemon juice

S&P

Step 1: add basil and garlic into a handy food processor and chop, then walnuts and chop,

slowly drizzle olive oil into the processor till it turns nice and shiny. Season with remaining ingredients to taste.

Summer Salad

lettuce (your call, but something that has a flavor)

Cherry tomatoes

valbreso feta cheese (sheeps milk feta)

dressing:

EVOO

ground mustard

apple cider vinegar

splash of lemon juice

Step 1:  Put lettuce tomatoes and feta into a bowl.

Step 2: In seperate bowl make dressing by whisking 1 T of EVOO and 1 T. apple cider vin. with 1/2 T mustard and lemon juice.

Step 3: pour over salad and toss when you are about to serve, keep salad dry and in the fridge till that point.

once the beans and no-sun tomatoes are almost done

gluten-free fried eggplant

eggplant (1/4" thick sliced)

1C. rice flour

1 egg

splash milk (soy, almond, hemp, water ect.)

and a dash of the following:

paprika

red pepper flakes

S&P

Step 0: heat enough 1/2" of Olive Oil in a pan.

Step 1: in one bowl add egg and a splash of soy milk (water/any type of other milk product) and whisk, in the next bowl add flour and seasonings.

a.

b.

c.

Step 2: Dunk sliced eggplant into the egg mix, then into the flour mixture, then into the oil. Cook till brown on each side.

Step 2: put in a pan with a little bit of Olive Oil saute till limp and lightly brown, season with S&P.

Plate!

Step 1: Place beans on plate and dollop with pesto.

Step 2: lightly combine pesto to squashghetti and top beans, add tomatoes to to the tower.

silhouette 

aerial view

Step 3: place salad and eggplant on plate and eat!

Bon food coma!