Avocado Pesto over Linguine

I took advantage of a great one day sale Friday at Whole Foods on organic avocados - which meant I went searching for a good recipe to use avocados in a new way. I found one on a food blog I follow, "Oh She Glows". As a bonus, it was another chance to try out the food processor. The very best part of this recipe may even be the fact that it took no more than 10 minutes to make - from gathering ingredients to sitting down to eat! It was delicious! This could be served with hot or cold pasta. I adapted it slightly.

Avocado Pesto over Linguine
serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 avocados
• 2 TB lemon juice
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
• 3 TB extra virgin olive oil
• 2 TB fresh shredded parmesan
• 8oz Al Dente Pasta Egg Linguine (2/3 package)

Directions:

1. Bring water to boil in large pot. Add in pasta, cook for 3 minutes. Drain and plate the pasta portions.
2. In food processor, process the garlic cloves, lemon juice and olive oil until smooth. Add in the avocado, basil and salt. Process until smooth and creamy. (note: if you don't want the sauce to be thick, you could add in some water to thin it down).
3. Spoon sauce onto pasta on each plate, grind black pepper and sprinkle 1/2 TB parmesan over each plate.

Due to the nature of avocado - do not reheat, serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Nutrition:
468 calories, 26g fat, 31mg cholesterol, 351mg sodium, 493mg potassium, 51g carbs, 8.2 fiber, 1.5g sugars, 11g protein.