Zoodles with Pesto, Rocket and Roasted Tomatoes and Chickpeas

Zoodles are noodles of raw zucchinni (courgette) created using a spiralizer – a gadget which sounds technical, but actually isn’t. I have a manual spiralizer that was very cheap but you can also buy spiralized courgettes in some stores.

Serves 2-4, depending on portion size!

Method

• Preheat your oven to 220C
• Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas in cold water. Pour onto a clean tea towel and dry off as much of the moisture as possible. Pour into a bowl and add a splash of olive oil and a half a teaspoon of each of the following: cayenne pepper, oregano, celery salt and garlic granules (I made up this mix when I was trying to find a recipe for roasted chickpeas but didn’t quite have the right spices/herbs in stock – it is now my favourite, but you can experiment with any flavours you like really), and mix well. Pour onto a baking sheet so that all the chickpeas are flat and roast for 20 minutes. Set aside.
• At the same time the chickpeas are roasting you can also roast the tomatoes. I simply lay my halved tomatoes out on a small baking tray, sprinkle with smoked paprika and bung in the oven. No oil or anything else. I think it is personal preference how roasted you like tomatoes, so I leave mine in for slightly less than the chick peas – about 15 minutes. Once cooked to your liking, set aside.
• While the chickpeas and tomatoes are roasting, make your zoodles. You basically want to zoodle as much of the three zucchini as possible. (This is a really fun thing to make with someone else, as you can have ‘Who can make the best/longest zoodle’ competitions!)
• I like my zoodles practically raw, so this next part is pretty quick…
• On a very low heat, pour about half a jar of vegan pesto into a pan and add your roast tomatoes and olives. Gradually add the zoodles, mixing all the time to coat them with the pesto mix. Once all mixed in they are ready to serve.
• Wash your rocket and put a good handful onto each plate.
• Spoon the zoodle mixture on top of the rocket and the sprinkle with as many of the roasted chickpeas as you desire.
• Eat!