I just got a spiralizer attachment for my birthday and I’m obsessed. I’ve been wanting to make noodles out of vegetables for so long, and now, the time has finally come.

I decided to make zucchini noodles with pesto for a birthday picnic that I hosted today at a park near my apartment. I got the zucchini from the grocery store, but I bought the basil this morning from the farmers’ market. And oh, what a difference that made.

The basil was fresh and it barely needed any coaxing from garlic or other ingredients. I just threw two bunches in a food processor, added some olive oil and sunflower oil, a couple handfuls of walnuts, some Parmesan and a clove of garlic. Et voilà: the best basil pesto of my life was born.

Making the noodles was a slightly more complicated process. It took me two out of eight zucchini (and some choice words) to figure out how to use the spiralizer attachment, but once I got the hang of it, everything went smoothly. Here’s a helpful video in case you run into problems like I did.

You might want to put the zucchini noodles between two paper towels and drain them for a little before tossing them with the pesto. Or, you can do what I did and make a slightly thicker pesto (with less oil) and then let the water from the zucchini thin out the sauce. Whatever works.

The noodles ended up being so good that I ate three bowls and didn’t save any for people who came late to the picnic. Whoops. I’ll probably make them again soon.

Here’s a song that reminds me of summer, picnics and chilling out. It’s also good to play while you’re spiralizing zucchini.

Zucchini Noodles with Pesto (from me, to you) 

Ingredients

8 zucchini
two bunches of fresh basil, leaves removed
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove
juice from 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions

Spiralize the zucchini and place the noodles into a large bowl. Toss with a little salt and let it sit while you make the pesto.

To make the pesto, put the basil leaves, olive oil, sunflower oil, walnuts, lemon juice, Parmesan and garlic in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add more oil with the blade running if the sauce is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the cherry tomatoes. Toss the noodles in a large bowl with the pesto and sprinkle on the cherry tomatoes. Serve immediately. Enjoy!