This gut-loving pasta dish is the kind of recipe you’ll come back to again and again – quick to make, full of flavour and, crucially, great for your digestive health. Created by Dr Megan Rossi (aka The Gut Health Doctor), it’s packed with ingredients that do your gut microbiome all kinds of good.

Pistachios bring prebiotic power, the yogurt adds a dose of live bacteria, and the wholegrain pasta keeps your fibre intake in check – one serving gives you an impressive 9g. The pesto is creamy and vibrant with a subtle zing of lemon, and there’s plenty of scope to make it your own. It’s proof that looking after your gut doesn’t mean compromising on flavour or satisfaction.

INGREDIENTS

Base:

200g wholegrain pasta of choice

Topper (pesto):

80g spinach leaves

20g basil leaves, fresh

65g pistachios

½ an avocado

2 tsp lemon juice, fresh

1 clove of garlic

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

100g live thick yoghurt

A pinch of salt to taste

EXTRAS

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved (approx. 300g)

2 tbsp pine nuts (optional)

Cracked pepper, to taste

METHOD

1. Place all the pesto ingredients into a blender along with two tablespoons of water. Blitz roughly to your preferred texture. You may need to scrape any mixture that has risen up the sides

2. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, then coat with pesto sauce and leave for 5 minutes to infuse

3. Serve topped with cherry tomatoes, pine nuts and some cracked pepper

Additional notes:

If you wish, you can replace the nutritional yeast with 35g freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Also, it’s worth paying more for extra virgin olive oil. Making EVOO is an expensive process. While a higher price doesn’t always ensure quality, the cheapest bottle on the shelf is unlikely to be the real thing. I buy in bulk and decant a portion into a dark bottle (which protects it from the light and keeps it fresh for longer), as I use it in all my cooking.

Find this recipe, and many more, in Dr Megan Rossi’s book, Eat Yourself Healthy.