30 Jun Rustic Almond Pesto
Ingredient Notes
- Basil: The main flavour in this pesto is basil so you want to get the good stuff. Either get yourself a plant or even the pre-packaged stuff but check the leaves for a nice bright green vibrancy. You don’t want any leaves wilted as that means the rest of the pack is on the way too. Make sure you remove the stems!
- Almonds: These act as a replacement for pine nuts. I have nothing against pine nuts, they go great in pesto it’s more their price. You just want to use a little but you end up losing half your bank account balance. Almonds are a bit harder to crush but are a great substitute. Other great options are cashews, walnuts or even sunflower seeds and breadcrumbs.
Cooking Notes
- Pestle And Mortar OR Blender: The reason a pestle and mortar is used is that…one it is authentic AF but two, you want to bruise the basil a bit so it releases those aromatic oils right into the body of the pesto. A blender with its fine blades just chops the basil leaves instead. So if using a blender give the leaves a little bruising before you add them.
- Don’t Heat Up The Pesto: I know this is under ‘cooking notes’ but you shouldn’t really cook a pesto. It ruins the delicate light green basil-ness that is pesto and makes it a darker less balanced dish.
Rustic Almond Pesto
A vegan, homemade version of a classic sauce, using almonds instead of pine nuts
Servings: 3 people
Equipment
- Pestle and Mortar
- Or Blender
Ingredients
- 60 g Basil leaves, large stems removed
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- 3 Garlic cloves, peeled
- 40 g Almonds, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp Nutritional yeast
- 2-3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Start by removing any large stems from the basil leaves.
- Add the basil leaves to the mortar. Using the pestle start pounding the basil leaves.
- Add in the sea salt to help abrasion and continue to pound.
- Add in the garlic cloves and almonds and pound until they become smaller pieces.
- Add the nutritional yeast and mix well.
- Add in the olive oil a tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consistency. Sometimes only 2 tbsp is needed instead of 3.
- Serve with pasta, focaccia, salad, roasted potatoes....everything!