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Caprese Pesto Pasta
mozzarella / cherry tomatoes

Active: 25 min Total: 25 min
This quick savory pasta takes inspiration from a classic Caprese salad with mozzarella and tomatoes. It's loaded with green vegetables from zucchini ribbons and kale pesto!
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Ingredients

Metric
Servings:
4
Caprese Pesto Pasta:
  • Pecan halves - 1/4 cup
  • Tomatoes, cherry - 1 pint , halved
  • Mozzarella, fresh - 6 oz , cut into 1 inch / 2.5 cm cubes
  • Zucchini - 1/2 lb
  • Spaghetti (sub linguini) - 6 oz
  • Kale pesto (half of recipe below) - 1/2 cup
Kale Pesto (makes enough for 2 meals):
  • Pecan halves - 1/4 cup
  • Kale leaves (sub fresh basil or arugula) - 5 oz
  • Garlic - 1 clove , peeled
  • Cheese, feta - 1 oz
  • Honey - 1 tsp
  • Olive oil - 4 Tbsp, plus extra if needed

Prep

  1. Toast pecans - Toast pecans (both the pasta and pesto portions) in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, ~5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, roughly chop. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
  2. Make pesto - Combine half the toasted pecans (save the other half to sprinkle over the finished pasta), kale, garlic, feta and honey in a food processor. Pulse until ingredients are well chopped. With food processor running, drizzle in olive oil until smooth (pesto should be thick but spreadable). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Since kale can be a bit bitter, add additional honey, if needed. Reserve half for Wednesday’s dinner. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
  3. Tomatoes / Mozzarella - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
  4. Make zucchini ribbons / noodles - Peel zucchini into ribbons or use a spiralizer to make zucchini noodles. Transfer to a colander and lightly salt.

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Make

  1. Bring a saucepan of water to boil. Salt generously and add pasta. When pasta is nearly al dente (tender but not soggy), add zucchini and continue boiling until pasta is finished, ~1 minute. Drain.
  2. Toss hot pasta with pesto (remember to save half the pesto for Wednesday), tomatoes and mozzarella. Season with some salt and pepper and top with the reserved pecans. Enjoy!

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