Creamy Avocado Pasta

All you avocado fans out there gotta know about this! And those on-the-fence or (gasp!) avocado haters, seriously need to wake up! Avocados have got to be on my top 10 food list for sure. I love slicing them up to put in turkey sandwiches, in fish & black bean tacos, on huevos rancheros, in smoothies, or simply on toast with sliced tomatoes. I love them on nachos, on enchiladas, in chicken tortilla soup, as guac, & even in cheesecake. They are da bomb.

I've unsuccessfully tried to grow my own avocado plant from a seed several times. Maybe one day I'll be diligent enough to do it, although I'd be doubtful that I'd even get one actual avocado since we live so far north. Who knows? Either way, I'm going to need a small farm of avocado plants due to my obsession with these little guys.

A fun site to check out is the amazing avocado. There are hundreds of recipes on this site (it's where I got the idea for the cheesecake), as well as all of the benefits of eating avocados. Read away & educate yourself!

This particular recipe I'm sharing with you today is one of our family favorites. We both like how creamy the consistency is (almost resembles a heavy cream type sauce) & of course, the earthy avocado-ness of it all, but I also love that it literally takes under 15 minutes to prepare. It's the perfect quick, yet satisfying meal for the nights when you have zero (or 15) minutes to cook.

You can be adventurous & add chicken or shrimp or any veggies that you like. We've made it with chicken & chopped red bell peppers before & it was delish. On this particular night that I made it, we were rushing out of the house to go to our local farmer's market, so there was no additions made & it was still quite yummy.

Do you like experimenting with avocados? What are some of your favorite recipes for them?

Creamy Avocado Pasta

Ingredients
1 medium sized ripe avocado, pitted
1/2 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish
1-3 garlic cloves, to taste
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Your choice of pasta (we used whole wheat spaghetti)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, & cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, & olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado & salt. Process until smooth & creamy.

When the pasta is done cooking, drain & rinse in a strainer & place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce & toss until fully combined. Garnish with lemon zest & black pepper. Serve immediately (this dish does not reheat well so eat it right away!)

Recipe adapted from Oh She Glows