Easy Garlic and Pine Nut Pesto
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
I haven't made pesto in quite a while but after one of my clients mentioned how much she loved it I decided to make some for dinner tonight. I grow many of my own herbs and basil so I have the ingredients on hand. And this recipe is so easy that I really have no excuse for going so long without making it.
Sometimes I omit the chili powder, but I like the way it masks the taste of the nutritional yeast. Don't get me wrong, I like nutritional yeast and the subtle, cheesy taste it offers to this recipe, but adding a dash of chili powder helps to focus the taste buds on the basil and garlic instead of the yeast.
As pictured, I used the pesto on whole grain gemelli pasta, delicious!
Garlic and Toasted Pine Nut Pesto
3 cups chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
5-7 cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp. chili powder (opt.)
salt & pepper to taste
Place the pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly toasted.
In a food processor blend basil and about 2 tablespoons of the oil until it is a paste like consistency. Gradually add toasted pine nuts, nutritional yeast flakes, garlic, chili powder and oil. Continue to blend until smooth adding oil if needed to achieve desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve on pasta, pizza, baked tempeh or appetizers. Top with soy Parmesan cheese if desired.
Freezes well. Freeze in ice cube trays, put frozen cubes into Ziplock bags to use in future recipes.
Labels: pasta, pesto, Vegan, Vegetarian
