Meatless Monday: Spiralized Yam Bowl with Avocado Pesto

This entry was posted on Oct 29, 2018 by Charlotte Bell.

Spiralized Yam Bowl with Avocado Pesto

I’m not gluten free, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy substituting spiralized veggies for pasta. In recent months, i’ve spiralized zucchini, apples, yellow potatoes and yams. Spiralizers are inexpensive and fun to use, and not just for veggie pasta. Most come with several blades to create different cuts. Today’s recipe, a spiralized yam bowl, uses parts of a recipe in one of my cookbooks, and some variations I chose in order to take advantage of garden veggies.

I originally intended today’s recipe to follow one in Nourishing Superfood Bowls by Lindsay Cotter. But I ended up substituting some different veggies and leaving out an ingredient or two. My garden still had some wax beans that needed eating, so I substituted those for the corn in the recipe. I also substituted fresh garden cherry tomatoes for the salsa, because they were just so sweet and tasty, but also because I thought salsa might interfere with the awesome avocado pesto. If fresh beans aren’t in season, you could easily add some steamed cauliflower, broccoli or Brussels sprouts to increase the nutrient quotient.

This bowl was quick and easy to make. It makes for a healthy, filling weeknight meal. The recipe below reflects my modifications. If you want to read the original recipe, which I’m sure is excellent, buy the book!

Spiralized Yam Bowl with Avocado Pesto

Avocado Pesto:

  • 1/2 avocado
  • 1/3 cup red onion, chopped
  • 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 3 tablespoons pine nuts or raw cashews
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • Fine sea salt to taste, plus more for bowls
  • Pepper, to taste

Yams:

  • 2 small purple sweet potatoes or regular sweet potatoes, spiralized or julienned
  • 1-2 teaspoons oil

Bowls:

  • a couple handfuls fresh wax beans or green beans, stem ends trimmed
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes
  • fresh cilantro, for garnish

Put It Together:

  1. For the avocado pesto, combine the avocado, onion, garlic, cumin, nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor. Blend until a creamy pesto is formed. Scrape the the sides of the food processor if necessary and keep blending until creamy. If it’s too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more oil to thin out the pesto.
  2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line with parchment paper or oil a baking sheet.
  3. Toss the yam noodles with the oil. Layer on a baking sheet and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crispy and slightly tender.
  4. Meanwhile, blanch the beans for up to 5 minutes in boiling water.
  5. Place the noodles on the bottom of two large bowls. Arrange the rest of the ingredients around the bowl and top with a generous helping of the avocado pesto.
About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell discovered yoga in 1982 and began teaching in 1986. Charlotte is the author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice and Yoga for Meditators, both published by Rodmell Press. Her third book is titled Hip-Healthy Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Guide to Protecting the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Pain (Shambhala Publications). She writes a monthly column for CATALYST Magazine and serves as editor for Yoga U Online. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte plays oboe and English horn in the Salt Lake Symphony and folk sextet Red Rock Rondo, whose DVD won two Emmy awards in 2010.

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