Creamy Avocado Pesto
Description
Top your shrimp pasta with a creamy avocado pesto made with basil, Romano cheese, and an avocado. It's rich and smooth but made without any dairy!
Ingredients
•
1 (8 ounce) package penne pasta
•
1/4 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
•
1 medium avocado, peeled and pitted
•
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, or to taste
•
4 tablespoons grated Romano cheese, divided
•
2 cloves garlic
•
1/2 medium lemon, juiced
•
salt and ground black pepper to taste
•
1/4 cup olive oil, or as needed
•
1/4 cup diced cherry tomatoes, or more to taste
Directions
1
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until mostly cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Add shrimp to the pot and cook until bright pink on the outside and the meat is opaque, 2 to 3 minutes; penne should be cooked through at this point.
2
While the penne is cooking, combine avocado, basil, 2 tablespoons Romano cheese, garlic, and lemon juice in a food processor; season with salt and pepper. Process until smooth. Add olive oil and pulse until creamy. Remove the blade from the food processor; stir diced tomatoes into pesto.
3
Drain penne and shrimp, then return to the pot. Add pesto, season with salt and pepper, and stir to coat.
4
Garnish servings with remaining Romano cheese.