As often happens, I find myself cooking starting from an ingredient that I absolutely have to use up… in this case a ripe avocado, and that’s how this pasta with avocado and spinach pesto came about, enriched with roasted pleurotus mushrooms, a delight I can’t describe, just one word: delicious!
This is a vegan dish that is already quite complete in itself, but I would add a side salad with a handful of legumes. I found it very filling on its own and it is truly incredible that it costs only 10 Weight Watchers Propoints!
This pasta is quick to make and the pesto can be prepared the day before and kept in the fridge. Then, ten minutes before going to the table, prepare the pasta and mushrooms and put everything together! Let’s see how…
Other good and light pasta recipes:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 oz baby spinach
- 3 oz avocado (equivalent to a small avocado)
- 1/2 oz almonds (no need to peel them)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 lemon (juice only)
- to taste chili powder (optional)
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 10 1/2 oz pasta (preferably whole grain)
- 2 tsps extra virgin olive oil (equal to 2 measuring teaspoons)
- 14 oz oyster or king oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus)
- to taste pepper (optional)
- Total points = 40 WW points
- Points per serving = 10 WW points
Tools
- Pan
- Food Processor
- Air Fryer
Steps
For the pesto, you can arm yourself with lots of patience with a pestle and mortar, or, as I do (since I use my patience to manage my ladies on a diet on Facebook :-D), you can use a blender. I recently got a Ninja food processor which is really powerful but a bit noisy, though since it blends quickly, the noise is tolerable.
In any case, just put the raw, well-washed spinach, peeled and chopped avocado, almonds, peeled and sliced garlic, juice from half a lemon, salt, pepper, and a bit of chili pepper if you like into the blender.
Blend everything for a few seconds so there are still some almond pieces to chew, I prefer it that way.
For the mushrooms, you can do it two ways. You can simply sauté the cleaned and chopped mushrooms in pieces that are not too small with the oil in a non-stick pan. But if you have an air fryer, you can also cut the mushrooms, coat them with oil, and cook them at 356°F for about 8-10 minutes directly in the basket: be sure to check the cooking occasionally so they don’t get too roasted, as each fryer has its own timing.
Once the pasta and mushrooms are cooked, all you need to do is mix the pasta with the pesto and then serve by adding the mushrooms as garnish. And our pasta with avocado and spinach pesto and mushrooms is ready!
If you have points available, you can add slices of avocado with a bit of salt, pepper, and lemon juice, how delicious!
We liked it so much here at home, and when I say we, I mean it was also approved by the Dutchman who tends to be very critical, though always very grateful that I cook, eh. Not so bad!
I look forward to knowing if you liked it, let me know by commenting below or on Facebook, you can find the link to my group, the Club of Mangia senza Pancia, below…
Enjoy!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
You can prepare this pesto in advance and keep it in the fridge for 3 days or even freeze it for 3-4 months.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What can I add instead of mushrooms?
In summer, when there are no mushrooms, I prepare cherry tomatoes in the air fryer: I cut them in half and place them in the basket with the cut side up on a piece of parchment paper, add some salt, garlic powder, and oregano, and cook them at 356°F for about 15 minutes. Like confit tomatoes but without using oil: they turn out great and are delicious added to this pasta dish!
