I started by setting up the spiral slicer, which has three plates for different sizes so I chose the smallest since Matt prefers a thinner pasta. I also prepped my veggies all at once so I could just run them through quickly.
Zucchinis and turnips, ready to go!
I found that the soft veggies like zucchini hold better if you just chop in the middle and stick the untrimmed end on the spikes. You have less waste that way too.
How pretty is that?!
Once my veggies were all sliced and then separating the zucchini from the turnips (I realized the turnips would need to cook longer) I started some butter heating in a ceramic coated cast iron pot. Any heavy skillet or pot would work just fine. I added chopped onions and minced garlic to the hot butter and browned it to just about this point.
After that I added the spiraled turnips and let them cook until they were fairly soft since they have a lot of bite to them otherwise. Once they were soft I quickly threw in the zucchini strands and gave it a swirl, pretty much just getting it barely heated up and then turned off the stove.
Luckily there was frozen simple pesto that I keep in the freezer and replenish every time the basil gets too big or someone gives me a bunch of it (simple pesto recipe at the bottom). About three ounces of that went in as well as some chopped tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Put it in a bowl with a little chiffonade of basil on top since we love basil in this house, and it's done! The whole thing took less than half an hour and was a hit! It was good as a cold pasta the next day too.
The only thing I would change the next time I do it is to rough chop the veggies after spiral cutting them. Some of those strands were about four feet long which isn't exactly easy to serve or eat! I had figured they would break up while cooking... they didn't.
Zucchini and Turnip pasta recipe
3 large zucchini
3 medium turnips
1/2 of a medium yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
5 roma tomatoes
3 oz simple pesto
salt and pepper to taste
Simple Pesto Recipe
1 large bunch of basil
1/4 C olive oil
8 or 9 toasted almonds (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves (more if you prefer) of garlic
salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste
You pretty much just throw all the ingredients in a food processor and process until you like the texture. I like to freeze it in small canning jars. Couldn't be easier. I started using almonds instead of the traditional pine nuts because we just don't like the flavor of pine nuts. I'm guessing you could use whatever nuts you prefer and it would taste great. I go a little light on the garlic because I almost always use sauteed onions or garlic in my cooking, but if you want to skip that step you can make a heavier on the garlic pesto.
