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Ingredients
- For the pesto:
- 1 cup uncooked millet
- 1 cup uncooked green lentils
- 2 medium zucchini, sliced (or vegetable of choice)
- 3 handfuls spinach
- 1/2 large avocado (about 1/3-1/2 cup flesh)
- 2 small or 1 large garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup water
- fine grain sea salt, to taste (I used just over 1/4 tsp)
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup lightly packed basil leaves (one entire 40-gram package)
Details
Servings 4
Adapted from ohsheglows.com
Preparation
Step 1
1. Rinse and drain lentils in a fine mesh sieve. Add to a medium pot along with 3 cups of water. Bring to a low boil and then reduce heat to low-medium and simmer uncovered for 25-40 minutes. When lentils are tender, remove from heat and drain water if necessary.
2. At the same time, cook the millet. Rinse and drain in a fine mesh sieve and add to a medium pot. Add 2 cups of water or vegetable broth, bring to a low boil, and reduce heat to low-medium. Cover with tight fitting lid and simmer for about 20-25 minutes or until the water has been absorbed. Remove from heat and leave lid on to steam for another 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
3. Meanwhile, sauté the zucchini in a skillet with a bit of oil, salt, and pepper for about 5-10 minutes, or until much of the water has cooked off. Add a few handfuls of spinach into the skillet and cook until wilted.
4. To prepare the dressing: Add all dressing ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary. Adjust salt to taste.
5. To assemble: Toss the millet and lentils together in one pot and season with Herbamare and pepper. Portion onto plates followed by the zucchini and spinach mixture. Now spoon on a generous amount of dressing and serve!
add one
This looks delicious! Might have to make this on the weekend :)
I love millet – it has such a great texture. Must do buy some more. I also love the idea of mixing avocado with basil for a creamy pesto! I did some a couple of weeks ago but used Greek to cream it up. Great vegan option!
Yum. I love very little in the Spring more than fresh pesto, can’t wait to make this. Such a delicious twist on an old classic!
Wow this looks awesome! Love the idea of a pesto dressing. And as the Irish aren’t known for their healthy vegan cuisine, I think a St. Paddy’s-themed salad is alllllways a good thing!
If I may suggest a twist, you can add lime juice – It’s wonderful with avocado.
Yum! I am definitely going to make this tomorrow! I absolutely love love love avocados and zucchinies so this dish is like a match made in heaven for me! Thank you Ange :)
Anna @ Your Healthy Place
So green! Love it – I am such a fan of pesto but it gets boring if you have the same type all the time, so I love finding new variations :).
Oh my my! I’ve been making this pesto that’s heavy on Italian Parsley and it’s been amazing. I’ll definitely try adding avos to it for a creamy alternative. Thank you!
Such a vibrant, healthy, and green looking gorgeous salad! Sorry about your vegan baking cake fails. I had a couple caketastrophes last week as well…ugh, hate it when that happens! Happy St Paddy’s Day with all this green going on!
Ooh yes, you are speaking to a pesto addict over here (and a recently-turned avocado lover too!) This sounds delicious Ange, and I would have never thought to make pesto with avocado but that’s a genius idea! I agree with you on the sunny weekends – this past one was gorgeous!! Hopefully all of our snow and rain disappears soon!
This recipe looks so good! There’s an amazing Italian restaurant near where I live that serves homemade pesto with their bread at the beginning of the meal. The pesto is almost whipped–light and fluffy and so delicious on just about anything :)
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