Zucchini pesto: how to prepare it and use it beyond pasta

Here's how to prepare zucchini pesto at home and how to best use it in the kitchen, not just for seasoning pasta.

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Il zucchini pesto it is a quick and easy condiment to prepare that everyone usually likes. Usually it is used as pasta sauce but in reality you can combine it with your favorite recipes to flavor your dishes and use it as an alternative to the classic Genoese pesto.

Our zucchini pesto recipe is a simple suggestion, you can vary it to your liking by adding your favorite spices and herbs since the delicate flavor of the zucchini allows you to adapt this recipe to all tastes. (Read also: Zucchini: 10 veg recipes to enjoy them at their best)

Zucchini pesto, the recipe

Here is a super simple recipe for prepare the zucchini pesto at home flavoring it with your favorite ingredients, for example a choice between basil and rocket. With the amount of pesto you will get you can season the pasta for 3-4 people. For 2 people only one courgette is enough.

Ingredients

• 2 zucchini
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of pine nuts or almonds
• 1 pinch of fine salt
• Warm water to taste

• Preparation Time: 15 minutes
• Cooking time:
• Rest time:
• Dose: for 3-4 people
• difficulty: low

Zucchini pesto has an interesting feature: it can be prepared with either raw zucchini than with the cooked zucchini although in real pesto all the ingredients should be raw. In both cases we advise you to cut the courgettes into cubes. Then you can decide to blend them raw directly with the other ingredients or to cook them in a pan or steam before blending them.

We advise you to prepare the zucchini pesto when using it in the right quantity since the recipe is very fast. If there is any leftover, freeze the zucchini pesto in a small glass or ice containers.

To prepare the zucchini pesto, all you have to do is blend all the ingredients, add water little by little only if needed to make the sauce creamier and season with salt and pepper according to your tastes.

Always according to your preferences you can choose between basil and rocket or between almonds and pine nuts as ingredients for yours personalized zucchini pesto.

Zucchini pesto, how to use it

The uses of zucchini pesto are numerous and very simple. Obviously they can vary according to your tastes and remember that you can use your own zucchini pesto as you would do with the classic basil pesto, since you will get a sauce with a similar consistency and a taste that allows different combinations. Prepare a more or less thick courgette pesto depending on the uses for which it will serve you. (Read also: 5 ideas of pesto to season and spread beyond the classic Genoese)

Here are many ideas for using zucchini pesto beyond using it as a sauce for pasta:

1. Spread the zucchini pesto on homemade bread and bruschetta
2. Prepare the lasagna with pesto
3. Garnish the potato salad
4. As a sauce to flavor seitan and tofu
5. To fill or season homemade ravioli
6. As a topping for homemade gnocchi
7. Season soups, soups and minestrone by adding a spoonful of pesto
8. Stuff the savory pies
9. Prepare the pesto pizza
10. Enrich the focaccia
11. As a dip for vegetable dips
12. As a sauce to serve for an aperitif
13. To vary the chickpea hummus recipe
14. As a filling for savory strudel
15. Season the boiled or steamed vegetables
16. Season the rice, spelled, barley and other grains
17. Dress the pasta salad and the rice salad
18. As a filling for rolls
19. To stuff stuffed peppers
20. To accompany the chickpea porridge and farifrittata
21. As a small addition to homemade mayonnaise for variation
22. As an alternative green sauce

And many other ideas according to your creativity in the kitchen ... (Read also: 12 ways to use Genoese pesto beyond pasta)

Which ones are they your favorite recipes to prepare and use zucchini pesto?

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