A Pasta dish on a Vegan menu !! Well, Vegans do need their share of complex carbohydrates, don't they ? And some spaghetti tossed with a tongue tickling roasted beetroot pesto, black olives and pan seared zucchini is one quick vegan meal that will make you forget the cheese !
Once it start bubbling, add enough salt ( To be more precise, it should taste like seawater )
As the water gets to a rolling boil, add the spaghetti.
Cook it till al-dente. The time would be mentioned on the packet.
Keep aside a cupful of the pasta water before draining the spaghetti. Give it a good shake to prevent the strands from sticking to each other.
Line a baking tray with a baking sheet. Layer the beetroot slices over it. Drizzle with olive oil.
Bake at 200 degrees for 15-18 mins. Remove and let it cool down.
Transfer the roasted beetroot to a grinder cup along with the garlic, peppercorn, walnut, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Ground into a coarse paste.
Dilute the pesto with some of the preserved pasta water.
Heat a pan to a high temperature. Drizzle few drops of olive oil. Add the zucchini slices and cook on high for 1 minute on each side. Remove and keep aside.
Toss the spaghetti strands with the beetroot pesto, chopped olives and seared zucchini.