Pesto is one of those spreads that's a must-make when you have a food processor. For some minimal effort that includes throwing a collection of ingredients in and hitting pulse, you get a delicious spread that's cheaper than the store variety, and all the tastier.
However, it's not so friendly to the vegan population, with its healthy dose of parmesan cheese in the mix. Luckily, there's a no-cheese, wonderfully vegan variety that can elicit oohs and ahhs as well. (Courtesy of the Fresh cookbook!) But wait -- don't curl up your nose, anti-veganites -- no-cheese pesto serves another function: it allows you to make a tasty pesto that's cheaper, and perfect for those times when you've run out of parmesan.
In fact, the recipe after the jump is so versatile that it tasted pretty darned good even without the fresh spinach (which I didn't have). I just substituted extra basil from my rapidly growing herb garden. Dig in!
No-Parm Pesto
Ingredients:
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp sea salt*
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (raw and unsalted)
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch fresh basil with the stems removed
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
Process garlic, salt, seeds, nuts, and olive oil until finely minced. Add the basil and spinach, and process until smooth.
*Note: Make sure you grind this up a little. I got lazy and used big chunks which made for a slightly-too-salty pesto.
What Can I Get You Folks? - Server Revenge
Reality-Show Celebrities Serve Up Chef Curtis Stone's 'Hundred-Dollar Burger'
Foods Celebrity Chefs Hate
