Welcome to the first Elevate Recipe Of The Month.
This month I introduce a great staple for your healthy eating, Low Carbohydrate, High Fat menu. This is a satisfying and adaptable recipe that is suitable for vegetarians and can be easily tweaked for the most enthusiastic meat eaters.

Courgetti con Pesto
Exchanging the usual carb-rich pasta for courgette strips makes this a supercharged low carb meal, brimming with green goodness. The good fats come from extra virgin olive oil and parmesan cheese in the pesto.

Ingredients

Two courgettes/zucchini per person (green or yellow)
Home made or shop bought pesto
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Olive oil for cooking
Fresh basil (optional)
Pine nuts (optional)
Parmesan (optional-vegetarian parmesan is available)

Note: remove the pesto from the fridge a good hour beforehand to make it easy to stir-in.

Method

1. Cut your courgettes lengthways into 1/2 or 1/4 cm strips.
2. Place the slices flat and cut lengthways again to make your “pasta” shape of choice.e.g. broad pappardelle, narrow tagliatelle or super skinny linguini.

With a sharp cook’s knife it demands no more than a little patience to prepare your courgette strips. If you want a fabulous shortcut you should check out the Spiralizer. This is an inexpensive kitchen aid that can save you bags of time and help you to make enough courgetti for the whole family.

3. Place a large frying pan or wok on a medium high heat with good glug of olive oil. When the oil is fairly hot, add your courgetti, tossing or stirring frequently.

4. Heat them through for 2-3 mins max. The aim is to serve them al dente, with a good bite to them.

5. Remove from the heat and stir in your favourite pesto.

6. Serve immediately on warmed pasta bowls.

7. Season with freshly ground black pepper, freshly grated parmesan and some torn basil leaves.

This versatile dish is complemented beautifully by bocconcini (tiny buffalo mozzarella balls), balsamic tomatoes and a hit of red chilli as pictured below. Keep an eye on future recipe of the month posts for more delicious and nutritious recipes.