This weekend a friend invited me to “cook” a bunch of healthy dishes for a host of our friends. I wanted to show them that “healthy” does not need to be bland, or wimpy. So… in an effort to introduce my Texan friends to some of my most favorite vegan fare, I designed a menu that was both rich, and tantalizing.
Everyone loves pasta. But not everyone imagined that they would be drooling over a dish of raw zucchini linguine. My wonderful friend, who hosted this party at his apartment, accidentally put the fresh basil in the fridge overnight. I needed the basil for a pesto I was creating but, being that we were running behind schedule, I improvised with what I had. Don’t worry, Nick, you are forgiven– the linguine was a total hit. It received numerous compliments.
Sauce
1 and 1/2 bags of soaked sun-dried tomatoes (about 12 oz)
1/2 cup garlic infused olive oil
Blend all ingredients in a high-powered blender, adding a bit of water, if needed (to help blender along)
Linguine and “Meatballs”
6 medium zucchini, peeled with a serrated peeler (peel until reach the seeds)
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
2 handfuls of shiitake mushrooms
Pour sauce over linguine and meatballs, and let marinated for 25 minutes, or so…
Sea salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste
~ – ~
Arrange on platters, or bowls, and serve cool.
Now sit back and watch it disappear.
This dish was certainly one of the highlights of the evening. I saw seconds, thirds, and fourths happening…
Here is some of the positive feedback it received:
“…and I don’t even like mushrooms!”
“It even twirls!!”
“I thought I would like it, but I didn’t think it would actually fill me up! So good!”
“Where did you get this recipe?”
“Amazing!”
~ – ~
If you like Italian… If you want to sink your fork into a succulent “pasta” dish…
If you like fresh, creamy, but seductively simple…
I highly recommend you wow guests with this.
~ – ~
-Thanks Nicholas for allowing us to host this dinner party at your lovely apartment! 
You are the best.
This—Is the perfect recipe for a dinner party I’m having this weekend. Thank you so much for posting. The photos are gorgeous. Thank you love.
thanks!!!
Let me know how the dinner party goes!
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