Creamy Avocado Pesto

Recipe by: Jerry James Stone | Written February 6, 2013

If you are anything like me, you can never eat too much avocado. Sliced, diced or mashed, I put the fruit in or on practically everything. That said, this was my first time putting it on pasta. I was a bit nervous at first. I didn’t want my avocado pesto to resemble guacamole on pasta. Luckily, it didn’t. It was creamy and full of flavor.
This post originally appeared on KQED’s Bay Area Bites.

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Ingredients

1 cup Cherry Tomatoes
2 avocados
½ lime, juiced
2 cloves garlic
4 servings pasta, linguini or spaghetti
⅛ cup olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts, chopped
Cilantro, chopped (for garnish)

Total Time:

15 minutes

PREP: 5 minutes
INACTIVE
COOK: 10 minutes

Servings:

4 servings

Recipe Type:

Diet:

Vegan

Cook pasta according to directions.
In a medium skillet, add just enough olive oil to coat the pan over a medium-high heat. When the oil has warmed, it will appear water-like and begin to shimmer.
Add the cherry tomatoes, let them cook for a few minutes so that they sear. Flip the tomatoes so they sear on the opposite side. When both sides are seared, remove them from the heat.
Add the garlic to the food processor and mince it.
Pit the avocados. (See my video on pitting avocados)
Add in the remaining olive oil and the lime juice and mix well. Then add in the lime zest and avocado meat, puree until slightly chunky.
Toss the cooked pasta with the avocado sauce and the tomatoes.
Chop the pine nuts and the cilantro separately to be used as garnish.
Garnish and enjoy!