Chef notes
Like most other people, I try to maintain a healthy diet. This dish came about as a way to satisfy pasta cravings in a more nutritious way, and this recipe is a product of trial and error. It's one of my favorite original recipes!
Ingredients
- 4 yellow and green zucchini
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 Italian chicken sausages
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 package cremini mushrooms
- 2 cans cannelloni beans
- 1/4 onion
- Salt and pepper
- 1 clove garlic
- 2-3 cups fresh basil
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Preparation
Cut the ends off the zucchini and put through a spiralizer or use a vegetable peeler so you get long spaghetti-like strands. Set aside.
Add garlic, basil, pine nuts and olive oil into a food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. COOKS NOTE: Most pesto recipes call for you to add parmesan at this point, but I like to add it at the very end so you can really taste the parmesan and use less of it.
Heat up a skillet on medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook chicken sausage until browned, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes.
Add mushrooms, tomatoes and onions to sausage in the skillet. Stir until combined. It will create almost a stew. Once vegetables are cooked through, add beans and salt and pepper to taste.
Heat another large skillet and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Once heated, add the zucchini noodles, stirring occasionally. Saute until zucchini is slightly softened, about 6 minutes.
Add pesto to zucchini and stir until noodles are evenly coated. Add parmesan cheese to zucchini and a touch of salt, if desired. Lower the heat.
Put noodles in a large serving dish and top with vegetable mixture. Give it a toss, and top with more parmesan cheese, if desired.
