Avocado Pasta Sauce

I love pasta, especially with creamy sauce like Alfredo. Unfortunately, I am lactose intolerant and thus can only have it in limited quantities. Fortunately, I also love avocados! When I heard that I could make a delicious creamy pasta sauce out of them, I couldn't wait to try it! The first time I made it, I was hooked!

Avocado pasta sauce is now in the list of go-to recipes for me! This weeks Produce Co-Op box has avocados in it. So, I figured now was a good time to finally write down the recipe...

Ingredients:
2-3 ripe avocados (pitted and pealed)
butter/olive oil
1 lemon
garlic salt
cream cheese

Optional ingredients:
Green onion/chives
basil
Parmesan
shredded mozzarella
sour cream
tomatoes
other herbs
bacon
anything else your imagination can come up with!

I cook the pasta first- I find that spaghetti type noodles don't work as well as other types (like bowtie, spiral, or elbow) since the sauce is kind of sticky, spaghetti/angel hair noodles tend to become a giant clump of pasta and sauce. Once it is done and strained, leave it in the strainer.
But, while the pasta is cooking I do the prep for the sauce.
First, the avocado needs smashing. I have done this in a food processor, potato ricer, and ziploc bag. If the avocado is soft enough, I just put it in a ziploc and smash it with my hands. I like this method best because it doesn't contribute to the pile of dishes I tend to create. If I don't have any bags, or the avocado is too firm to smash with my hands, I prefer the texture produced by the potato ricer versus the food processor.
Next, you need to zest the lemon. When the pot you cooked the pasta in is empty put it back on the burner on low, add a couple tablespoons of butter and/or olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the lemon zest and cook for a couple minutes. Then, add the avocado and the juice of the whole lemon. Stir that up. Add about 1/4-1/2 a block of cream cheese and few shakes of garlic salt. Some recipes I have seen for avocado pasta don't have any dairy in them, you can do that too. I even tried it with vegan "cheese" once, it just wasn't as good, in my opinion.
Once the cheese is melted and everything is well mixed, I add the pasta back to the pot and stir until the pasta is evenly coated. At this point I usually add a little Parmesan and/or some of the other optional ingredients I listed. That's it! Time to eat! I usually serve this pasta with fish but it's good with chicken or by itself too. One of my favorites with it is my Tomato Lime Tilapia (only I use fresh tomatoes now that I seem to have an endless supply of them from the co-op).

Give it a try! I Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!