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A close up aerial view of a white speckled ceramic plate topped with spaghetti in green protein pasta sauce. The spaghetti is then topped with freshly grated parmesan, black pepper and garlic infused oil.

Green protein pasta sauce

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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Food Intolerance Friendly
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large bunch Tuscan kale, de-stemmed (about 150g)
  • 1 large bunch basil, rough stems removed
  • 1 x 400g can butter beans or chickpeas, drained and rinsed (approximately 250g of beans once drained) (see notes)
  • 1 cup (250g) cottage cheese (see notes)
  • 100g freshly and finely grated parmesan (see notes)
  • 1/2 cup water (for blending, optional)
  • Seasoning, to taste
  • 1-2 lemons

Instructions
 

  • Bring a medium pot of water to the boil. Blanch the de-stemmed kale for about 10-15 seconds until soft but still bright green. This sets the colour and helps mellow the strong kale flavour. Remove from the water, strain and immediately run the cold water to stop the kale cooking further. Wring out and add to the blender.
  • Add the remaining ingredients except for the lemon juice and seasoning. Blend well, using the water if you need it. If you have a Nutribullet, I recommend putting something heavy in first, like the beans. This will help press everything down into the blade when you invert the blender cup.
  • Blend until smooth, then add lemon juice and seasoning to taste. Spoon over pasta, vegetables, or anything that needs a delicious sauce. If you're making pasta, this pesto is enough for 400g worth of raw pasta with some leftover. Keep the FODMAP limits in mind when serving if need be, and read the notes carefully. Leftover pesto keeps well for a number of days but can also be frozen and defrosted.

Notes

  • Tuscan kale makes for a beautiful darker colour, but regular kale can also be used. I accidentally used it for the spaghetti photo batch and it makes for a more pale green colour.
  • See the notes section on the beans if you need this to be FODMAP friendly. I cover all the possible options for the beans in that section.
  • You can use regular, high protein or lactose free cottage cheese. I have developed a recipe for homemade lactose free cottage cheese which you can find here. 
  • Vegetarian parmesan does exist, whether or not it should. For a list of Australian brands, follow this link. 
  • I highly recommend drizzling this green pesto pasta sauce with homemade garlic infused oil, for my fellow garlic adverse gals. You get all the garlic flavour with none of the fructans. 
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