Spiralized Sweet Potato Noodles with Pesto
Soft sweet potato strands steamed in a covered skillet and tossed off the heat with a sharp basil, pine nut and Parmesan pesto. One pan, about 25 minutes.
Servings 2 servings
Ingredients
For the Pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves packed, stems removed
- ⅓ cup pine nuts toasted
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ cup Parmesan finely grated from a wedge
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
For the Noodles
- 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes peeled and spiralized on the 3 mm blade
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the Pesto
- Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 4 minutes, shaking often, until they smell nutty and take on color. Let them cool.
- Pulse the basil, garlic, cooled pine nuts and Parmesan in a food processor into a coarse paste, with no oil in the bowl yet.
- With the motor running, stream in the olive oil until you have a thick paste rather than a loose slick. Add the lemon juice and salt, and season it a touch saltier than tastes right on a spoon.
Spiralize and Cook the Noodles
- Peel the sweet potatoes, slice both ends flat, and cut long ones in half crosswise. Spiralize on the 3 mm blade, snipping the ribbon with kitchen shears every three or four rotations, then toss the pile loose with your fingers.
- Heat the olive oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add the noodles with the water and the salt, cover, and steam for 4 minutes without stirring.
- Uncover and toss with tongs for 2 to 3 minutes until the water has cooked away and the strands look glossy. A finished strand bends in a slow arc and still holds its shape. If it drapes limp, it has gone about a minute too far.
- Take the pan off the heat, then fold in the pesto so the basil stays green. Add black pepper, taste for salt, and serve right away.
Notes
- Blade choice: the 3 mm blade, usually marked C. A 6 mm strand softens outside before the center cooks, which is the mush people complain about.
- Peel it: sweet potato skin does not soften in a short saute.
- Do not crowd the pan: a crowded skillet steams the strands into a puddle. Use a 12 inch pan or cook in two batches.
- Pesto off the heat: folding pesto in over live heat dulls the basil to army green.
- Store bought spiralized packs are drier than fresh cut, so pull them a minute earlier.
- Storage: pesto keeps 5 days refrigerated under a film of oil, or 3 months frozen. Raw strands keep 2 days. Dressed noodles do not keep, so cook them to order.