GF Vegan Roasted Red Pepper & Kale Pesto!

Scrumptious Recipe Alert!!!

gluten-free and vegan amazingness!

Today was a day that we needed comfort food. Long story short, it was an emotional day, and nothing sounded better than a soul-warming serving of a creamy pasta.

the sunflower seeds added depth and texture!

This can be quite a difficult task with the Body Ecology Diet — since the only grains allowed on the diet are quinoa, millet, amaranth, and buckwheat. Well, wouldn’t you know, they sell buckwheat pasta!! How fantastic!! It’s not AS wonderful texture-wise and taste-wise as brown rice pasta, but still hits the “pasta spot.”

beautiful ruby-red Ahi Tuna!

So tonight, I blanketed these legal buckwheat noodles with a velvety, creamy, pesto — made from a roasted red pepper, steamed kale, basil, and roasted pumpkin seeds! This was so delicious! My dad was CONVINCED that there was butter or cream in the sauce! I served this with seared Ahi Tuna! Yum Yum Yum!

gorgeous green color!

Lets start with the Pesto. Here’s what you need:

1 red pepper, roasted and peeled
2 big stalks of kale, steamed
2 garlic cloves
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
3 Tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted
1 cup basil
6 olives
salt

To roast your red pepper, I literally set it on our gas flame and kept turning it with tongs until it was completely charred. I then put it in a bowl and covered it with plastic wrap so that the steam loosened the skin. Then, after about 15 minutes, the charred skin peels right off (use your hands), and you’re left with a wonderful, roasted red pepper! If you don’t have a gas flame, you can do the same right under the broiler! Place all your ingredients into your food processor, whirl it up, and you’ve got a luxurious sauce! Toss it with your buckwheat pasta and enjoy!

want a bite?

Finally, the Ahi Tuna! Oh my Gosh –Lobsta Bakes’ wild, ocean-caught, sushi-grade tuna is amazing. It is such a beautiful ruby red color, with a succulent, melt-in-your-mouth texture! It is seriously like buttah!

Now that I’m on the Body Ecology diet, I can no longer have sugar or soy sauce (among countless other things). Therefore, I could not marinate the tuna like I usually do. However, to give it a truly spectacular taste, I suggest to marinate it first. This is the marinade I {{used to}} use…….*tear*

Marinade:
2 T Tamari (gluten free soy sauce)
1 T grated fresh ginger
1 BIG garlic clove, grated
1 t fresh lime juice
1 green onion, thinly sliced
small squeeze agave
1 tsp EVOO (or sesame oil if you have it)

I combined these ingredients with the tuna steaks in a gallon ziplock bag.  I made sure they were all coated, and then put the bag (on a plate incase it leaks) in the fridge for about an hour.

Searing your fish: In a super hot, non-stick grill pan sprayed with olive oil spray, sear each side for 1-2 minutes. If you want it less rare, you can cook it longer, but I wouldn’t recommend it!

red pepper and kale — really??

This meal hit the “comfort spot” that we so needed after such an emotional day. This pasta warmed your belly and warmed your soul. The pesto was seriously delicious. My parents said it is in their “Top 3″ of what I make. By roasting the pepper over a real flame, it got this deep, smokey-sweet flavor. It was fantastic — it went perfectly with the fresh, sweet basil. The garlic gave it nice backbone, while the lemon provided a refreshing bright note. But the thing that was most wonderful about it was its consistency! It was SO creamy and velvety. A truly great “mouth feel!”

velvety and creamy sauce!

Next time you need comfort in the form of pasta, try this guilt-free and highly nutritious red pepper pesto!

This meal used two of my fav kitchen tools: my BFF (food processor), and my grill pan! Here are the ones I use and highly recommend: