Vegan Pesto

One of my all time favorite things to make in the spring and summer is pesto. The Park Slope Food Co-op has incredibly fresh basil. I bring it home and put it in a vase to keep it fresh. I always try to eat it in a day or two. I ate this one on homemade bread and sweet potato gnocchi. I also really like it on a vegan grilled cheese sandwich.


While I was making this recipe, I realize I didn't have enough of my usual pine nuts. I had a bunch of almonds and used those. It came out great. When I made the recipe again a few days later, I just used almonds. It tasted great (I didn't notice a difference) and almonds are much less expensive than pine nuts. My friend told me you can also use walnuts. I will have to try that another time.

The final product is very fresh tasting. The mixture of the garlic and lemon leave you with a powerful taste that will make you want more. I like to add a little lemon for garnish.

Ingredients
4 cloves of fresh garlic

4 cups of fresh basil

1/2 cup pine nuts or almonds (or a mix of both)

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Pesto Ingredients

Method
1. Place the garlic in the food processor and blend until it is finely chopped.
2. Add the almonds and blend.
3. Add the basil and blend until everything is mixed.
4. Add the lemon juice and blend.
5. Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper and blend.