How To Make A Vegan Pesto
Making pesto is not an exact science. It's an intuitive, easy sauce you can whip up from any combination of herbs and nuts you little heart desires. You can use cilantro or basil. Or both. Or try a light and fresh combo of mint and parsley. The thing I love about this pesto? It's dairy-free.
Pesto is such a flavor boost to all kinds of recipes- stir it or plop it into soups and stews, schmear on croutons, toast and grilled bread. It's a fabulous base for pizza toppings. A bright, herby accent spread on grilled salmon and fish. Add some to roasted potato wedges. Egg dishes. Polenta. It dresses up rice and risotto. Pasta, noodles, tortillas. Salad dressings and hummus.
So even if it is considered passe by some...do we care?
How To Make A Vegan Pesto - A Recipe Template
This vegan pesto is big on taste, zero on dairy. You won't miss the cheese, I promise. It never lasts long around here.
2 cups, washed, loosely packed stemmed fresh herbs- basil, cilantro, parsley, mint
1/2 cup shelled pecans, walnuts or almonds
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/4 to 1/2 cup good tasting extra virgin olive oil, as needed
Sea salt, to taste
Combine the fresh herbs, nuts, and garlic in a food processor and process the mixture until it turns into a coarse meal. Slowly add extra virgin olive oil in a steady drizzle as you pulse the processor on and off. Process until it becomes a smooth, light paste. Add enough olive oil to keep it moist and spreadable. Season with sea salt, to taste.
Cover and store chilled for at least an hour to saturate the flavors. I like to pour a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil over the top to help keep it bright green.
Makes roughly a rounded cup.
16 comments:
YUM. Once again you have done it. Can't wait to have this with dinner tonight!
I also like make pesto with other fresh herbs, but have never tried with cilantro yet.
What is the utensil in the photo?
Hello Virginie! I imagine you have access to wonderful fresh herbs. What is your favorite combination?
Hi Sally! You mean the little cocktail knife? I found a set of four in Santa Fe. They're perfect for spreading pesto or tapenade on grilled toast, etc.
Karina
I LOVE the idea to use pecans in pesto! I have to try this out.
I love cilantro pesto, I used to be a basil pesto purist and then one day I broke the barriers down and I am happy I did! We just made some pesto with frozen spinach and it too was great and has a fabulous green factor when it is gray outside. I love the cocktail knife, great style.
cilantro walnut pesto IS good. A dash of jalepeno in there gives it a nice kick too.
:)
By the Bay- I've been loving pecans in pesto. Toasted- really rocks. ;)
Thanks, CelticJig! I discovered cilantro pesto years ago- when there was no basil available- and I was surprised at how much I LOVED it (I was a die hard basil girl). The spinach idea sounds intriguing...
Shamana- Ooh, yeah. Jalapeño is always good in my book. I love it in hummus. Have not put it into pesto- but- why the heck not? ;)
Karina
Ohh, I LOVE This. Never thought of doing this and it seems so bright and green. I think I miss green...
:)
I've mad this walnuts, but pecans sound much more appealing!
I can't wait to make this for Emily now that I finally found a pizza crust we like! Dairy free pesto recipes are really hard to come by, thank you! As for the nuts...hmmmm...I think our only options here would be almonds, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. Chopped, toasted pumpkin seeds might be good. What do you think?
Hey SM! This pesto is a favorite here- we even add it to tuna salad. ;)
Barbara- Pecans are fab!
Hi FoodAllergyMom- I've made this with toasted almonds- very good. Toasting almonds- or the seeds you mentioned- would help.
Personally- I wonder about the texture of the pumpkin seeds. Toasted sunflower seeds would grind up nicely.
If the seeds are salted, cut back on salt and season to taste after the seeds are added.
Let me know what you try. ;)
Karina
Oh wow! Karina, this pesto is YUMMY. I made it this evening and posted what I did with it just now on my blog. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night's dinner, too, that I posted about in there.
Thanks!
this looks wonderful! question: how long can it keep? If I made a big enough batch, could I freeze and use for later? thanks for all your wonderful recipes.
Rachel- Cool- glad you like this pesto. I need to make some- soon!
Hi Sara- I've never had enough left to freeze, so I have no personal experience. But I don't see why not. I've read of cooks putting pesto in ice cube trays and freezing it as cubes. You'd need to store it as air-tight as possible; as ice crystals will diminish the flavor/taste.
Karina
try adding a bit of miso paste to the pesto as well - adds a little extra dimension of flavour!
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