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Greatest plates · Salad
Avocado and Basil Pesto Pasta with Prawns
A pesto with no cheese and no nuts in it — a whole avocado blended with basil, spinach, lemon and hemp seeds goes shockingly green and creamy. Toss it through hot pasta with garlic prawns and eat it the same day, because avocado waits for nobody.
Serves 6Prep 10 minCook 15 minSaladFish
Containsdairy · gluten · shellfish
KalaPlate adaptationAdapted from Life-Changing Salads by Danielle Brown, HealthyGirl Kitchen
Protein 27%Carbs 37%Fat 36%
About 589 kcal a serve — 40 g protein, 55 g carbs, 24 g fat. Each segment is that macro's share of the calories, within about 10%.
Ingredients
Serves 6
Method
Cook the pasta, save the water
PastaCook the pasta in well-salted water to the packet time and — this matters — scoop out a mugful of the cooking water before you drain it. That starchy water is what turns the sauce from a paste into a coating.
In the saucepanPasta →
12 min
Fry the garlic prawns
PrawnsFry the sliced garlic in the olive oil for thirty seconds until it smells sweet, then add the prawns, salt and chilli flakes. Two minutes a side and they are done.
In the frying panPrawns →
5 min
Blend the avocado pesto
PestoBlend the avocado, olive oil, basil, spinach, lemon juice, hemp seeds, garlic, nutritional yeast and salt on high until completely smooth and bright green.
In the blenderPesto →
5 min
Toss and finish
TossTip the drained pasta into a warm serving bowl, pour the pesto over and add a splash of the reserved pasta water, tossing until every piece is coated. Fold the prawns through and grate the Parmesan over the top.
In the bowlToss →
3 min
Cook's noteEat this warm, the day you make it. Avocado sauce browns overnight however much lemon is in it — this is the one dish here that is genuinely not a leftover.
Estimated per serve
589 kcal · 40 g protein · 55 g carbs · 24 g fatestimates, within ~10%
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