Want to eat a pasta dish without the gluten? Try Courgette Tagliatelle with Green Olives, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Basil Cashew Cream! The courgette takes the place of tagliatelle so this  fresh, raw, gluten-free recipe can be enjoyed by anyone, even those who are on a diet or have intolerance for gluten.

This recipe has been shared with me by Tony Keogh, the head chef of Cornucopia restaurant. He takes pride in being a vegetarian cook who’s always exploring and experimenting with new ingredients and combinations. One of his explorations led to the creation of this tasty recipe.

Courgette Tagliatelle with Green Olives, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Basil Cashew Cream

Serves 3-4

You will need:

2 medium courgettes, rinsed, topped and tailed
40g sundried tomatoes
40g of green olives, thinly sliced
200g cashew nuts, soaked in cold water overnight
200ml water
20g fresh basil
30ml lemon juice
3 cloves fresh garlic
Salt to taste
Heaped dessert spoon of nutritional yeast (optional)
Rocket to serve

Using a Y-shaped vegetable peeler, peel the courgettes into a large bowl until you begin to see seeds at the centre.
At this stage, set the interior of the courgettes aside for something else.
The courgette strips you now have in the bowl constitute the “tagliatelle”.
Finely chop the sundried tomatoes and add them to the courgettes, along with the olives.

Strain the cashews and blend them with the fresh water, basil, lemon, garlic, seasoning and nutritional yeast.
To blend, use a high speed blender, a food processor or an immersion blender (we use a vita-mix in the restaurant).

Blend the mixture until a velvety sauce is achieved.
If the sauce is still a little grainy, put it through a fine sieve.
Fold the sauce through the courgette ribbons.
Adjust the seasoning and serve immediately, topped with some fresh rocket leaves.

Enjoy!