Avocado Basil Pesto Recipe

      This is yet another simple quick recipe which I tried, to use up the abundantly grown basil leaves in our pot in the balcony :P I always look for new recipes to include avocado and some other veggies in diet which are not so regularly used. Avocado, spinach, kale, broccoli have entered our kitchen after I came to USA. We used to buy broccoli, capsicum once in a while in India. But these vegetables have become a part of the routine vegetable shopping here. 

     Whenever we are about to get a family size lays chips or tostitos, we would buy a Ranch or Salsa for it. I had been thinking of ways to avoid buying store bought dips for chips. Remembering the ingredients that were already back at home, I decided to make this avocado dip or pesto to start with the sauce/dip varieties. I wanted to use pine nuts in the recipe. But, I could not find one at the grocery store. I didn't have enough time to go to a Whole Foods store and look for it as Abhinav was at home with grandparents for a longtime without me. So I preferred to use Pistachios over Walnuts in this recipe which turned out to be good. These dips and pestos are a good way to use up the walnuts and pistachios sitting in the fridge :P 

     Enjoy this no-cook recipe and treat urself with your favourite chips and this dip or spread a lavish amount of this dip on a tortilla or a regular chappathi or phulka. Or add a dash of this pesto to your raw carrot/cucumber salad....Mmmmmm.... Yummmm...!!!!

Prep Time: 10 mins || Cook Time: 0 || Serves: 3 || Category: Dip/Condiments/Sauce

Ingredients:

1. Avocado - 1

2. Basil leaves - 20 to 25

3. Pistachios - 10 to15 (can use pine nuts or walnuts too)

4. Salt - as required

5. Olive oil - 2 tsp

6. Garlic - 1 pod (optional) 

7. Lemon - 1/2

Method:

1. Wash the basil leaves. Cut and de-seed the avocado. Scoop out the pulp. Soak the pistachios for 30 mins in warm water. Add the avocado pulp, basil leaves, pistachios, garlic (later I didn't add garlic as I felt it will dominate the flavor), salt to a blender/mixi and grind to a smooth paste. Squeeze lemon juice and mix well. 

Suggestions:

• Instead of soaking the pistachios, I microwaved it for a min. 
• Pine nuts or walnuts can also be used in the place of pista. Adding some of these nuts gives a good creamy texture due to their oil content. The dip by itself is creamy due to the nature of Avocado. 
• If refrigerating, add a little more lemon juice and mix well. Fill it to the brim of the glass or ceramic jar and drizzle olive oil on top and close tightly. Use it up within 2 days so as to not lose its freshness and flavor. 

Spaghetti Pasta in Tomato Sauce Recipe

     Pasta is a universal kids favorite recipe. Its been a long time since I tried pasta recipes after broccoli pasta. Every time I pass by the pasta aisle in Walmart, I will be so tempted to buy them. 
     When Mani's friends came to visit golu last year, they had so thoughtfully bought two saplings as I like gardening - one was mint and the other was basil. You may be wondering why I suddenly jumped into an irrelevant story !! Yes, there is a reason :P I could not save the basil plant from the snowstorm. I felt guilty and bought some basil seeds during spring this year. Planted them and they are growing so beautifully. I do not know much to do with the basil in cooking and at the same time I haven't tried many pasta recipes. So connecting both, I wanted to try many pasta dishes before the basil plant wilts :P
So here I come with a recipe of spaghetti pasta decorated with basil leaves!! (grown at home... hee hee..) 

Prep Time: 10 mins || Cook Time: 30 mins || Serves: 2 || Category: Pasta dishes/Kids recipes

Ingredients:
1. Spaghetti pasta - 150gm (or any kind of pasta)
2. Tomato - 3
3. Olive oil - 1 tbsp
4. Onion - 1
5. Oregano - 3 tsp (or mixed herbs)
6. Basil leaves - a handful
7. Salt - as required
8. Tomato sauce - 2 tsbp
9. Parmesan cheese - 1 tbsp (grated)

Method:
1. Slit tomatoes and blanch them in boiling water for 5 mins. Once the skin peels off, switch off the flame and drain the water. Run through cold tap water for a min and then peel off the skin from the tomatoes. 

2. Cool them and grind to a puree without adding water. In the same pan used for blanching tomatoes, add the spaghetti with required amount of water. Drizzle a few drops of olive oil and cook for 8-10 mins.

3. Cook with intermediate stirring till the pasta becomes soft and absorbs all the water. Transfer the cooked pasta to a plate. 

4. In the pan add some olive oil and throw in the onions, oregano and saute for 2 mins. Then add basil leaves and cook till the onions are translucent.

5. Add the chopped tomato and cook till it becomes mushy. 

6. Add the tomato puree and mix well. Allow it to cook for 3-4 mins. Then add the cooked pasta, salt and stir well. 

7.  Add a spoon of tomato sauce and mix well. Cook till the tomato puree has been absorbed by the pasta. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of oregano.

Suggestions:

• Regular canola oil or vegetable oil can be used in the place of olive oil. 
• If available, ready made tomato puree can be used.
• I have used spaghetti pasta here. It can be substituted with any other pasta variety like bowtie, fettucine etc
• Mixed herbs can be used to give more flavor.