Creamy Avocado Pasta

In honor of St. Patrick's Day 2012, I'm going to share a great green recipe :)

Who doesn't love cheesy, white, terrible for you, fat laden sauce on their pasta?  No one on this planet.

I came across this recipe on Pinterest that creates a creamy pasta sauce with no cheese or cream.  So it actually turns out that this sauce is vegan.  It does have fat from the avocado, of course.  But that's good fat - or at least that's what they're telling us.

This recipe takes about 2 minutes to make this sauce and you can enjoy it on any pasta, or even on rice.  You can add whatever vegetables and protein you would like, and of course you can sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top - which I did, and it was even more fabulous than it already is.

The recipe is here from www.chatelaine.com:
Avocado Cream Sauce

Here it is as well:
Ingredients:
• 1 medium ripe avocado, pitted
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, packed
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste
• 2 servings of pasta 
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook about 8-10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth and scrape down sides of the bowl - I used my blender.  Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy. You can add a touch of water or oil if necessary.
3. When pasta is cooked, drain in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately. 
Please note: This sauce does not reheat well due to the avocado. Please serve immediately.


Enjoy!