Cooking delicious food that not only warms your soul but nourishes your body from the inside out is one of my favorite things to do! Check out this wonderful recipe that makes a fresh pasta that you can eat year round!
I have always loved cooking, and growing up I was lucky enough to learn from my mom and grandparents how to cook outstanding food! Seriously, I think the Food Channel was my favorite thing to watch starting at around seven years old...between the cooking competitions, Martha Stewart and just watching fresh ingredients from a garden being turned into a delicious meal I just could not get enough!
About 4 years ago, after being diagnosed with late-stage Lyme Disease, I found a deeper passion and appreciation for food than ever before, if there was a time to start knowing what I was putting into my body it was then! Food for me, has been a huge healer but the journey to "healthy eating" and a anti-inflammatory diet didn't happen overnight. It took much research and many hours dedicated to educating myself on eating foods that would nourish my body!
I have gotten to the point where I'm able to whip up practically anything in the kitchen and it feels so good! I hope that you're able to find as much comfort from the recipes I'll be sharing on The Holistica Hive as I have!
Now for my delicious skin friendly recipe... Zesty Fennel Pesto Brown Rice Pasta! Enjoy!
*This recipe can easily be made vegan/vegetarian by omitting the bacon*
Ingredients for pesto:
1 Lemon (cut in half)
Zest of whole lemon
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup almonds
2 cups fresh basil
1/4 cup olive oil
Fennel fronds
2 tsp. Salt (more to taste)
1 tsp. Pepper (more to taste)
2 tsp. Garlic Powder (more to taste)
Additional Ingredients:
5 oz. Organic Spinach
4oz. Grassfed Organic Bacon (cut into cubes)
12 oz. Pasta of choice (I used a little less than a full bag of Gluten Free Brown Rice Pasta from Tinkyada)
What you'll need:
A pot to boil pasta in
Sautè pan
A grater (for lemon zest)
Food processor
Directions:
Start by setting a salted pot of water on the stove, once at a roaring boil, put in pasta and let cook (follow directions for specific pasta of choice) I like mine al-dente for this recipe!
In a sautè pan, cook bacon until crispy, then place on plate until ready to use
In the same sautè pan that you used to cook the bacon, drain out some of the bacon grease but keep some to cook spinach down in. (***if you are vegan/vegetarian completely omit bacon and use olive oil instead)
Wilt spinach down completely in sautè pan and set aside.
For the fennel pesto, place basil, fennel fronds, garlic cloves, almonds, olive oil, lemon zest and juice of 1/2 lemon, salt, pepper and garlic powder in food processor and pulse until smooth and creamy. Add in a little more of lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic powder until taste is right at your liking.
Once pasta is cooked, strain and place back in pasta pot.
Mix pasta with zesty fennel pesto mixture, wilted spinach and bacon, until every piece is covered equally!
Top with a fresh slice of lemon, fresh basil or parmesan! Enjoy!
Stay tuned for more recipes!
Take care, xo
Astrid Makenzi
The Holistica Hive