Kale Pesto Baked Zucchini

By vdub

Ingredients

• Ingredients:
• 2-3 large organic zucchinis/courgettes
• 2 large organic tomatoes, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup gluten-free bread crumbs
• fresh basil leaves for plating
• Kale Pesto Ingredients:
• 2 leaves of organic kale
• roughly 1/2 loosely packed basil leaves
• 1/3 cup mix of pine & brazil nuts (or just pine nuts for a more traditional taste)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + extra for pan and drizzling on top
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 1/2 cloves of garlic
• fresh cracked black pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Clean and dry the zucchini and slice lengthwise in half. With a spoon or ice cream scoop (because that’s more fun!) scoop out the soft inner flesh. Oil all over and set aside. (place the scooped out zucchini into a large mixing dish for later.)

For the Kale Pesto, combine all ingredients : kale, nuts, olive oil, sea salt, garlic in a food processor. Mix for a few minutes to form a pesto, being sure to stop, turn off the mixer and scrape down the edges halfway in between mixing.

In a large mixing bowl, chop the zucchini flesh into small pieces add in diced tomatoes and kale pesto and mix with a wooden spoon to combine all the ingredients together. Season with extra salt and pepper if needed. Fill the tops of zucchini with the mixture, sprinkle with bread crumbs and place in the oven for about 45 minutes.

Serve with a lentil pasta dish or another protein rich grain such as wild rice or quinoa.

Quick Version ~ skip the homemade pesto if you must and purchase a good quality organic vegan pesto and add 1 or 2 leaves of kale into the recipe, just be sure to chop it very fine.