added this 18 years ago
Basic Pesto
What you need:
2 cup basil leaves
2 tablespoon pine nuts
2 oz. grated, vegan Parmesan or nutritional yeast flakes
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
What you do:
Put all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor and mix thoroughly. Adjust the amount of olive oil as needed.
Preparation Time:
Cooking Time:
Servings:
2
Recipe Category:
SO HOW'D IT GO?
Great recipe. I only used 1 Cup fresh basil and added 1 Cup fresh Spinach (I needed to use it up). The nutritional yeast gave it a nice added flavor. I mixed this with one box of rotelle pasta and some diced tomatoes. Thanks!
As soon as I lifted the lid off the blender, I could tell this smelled GREAT! I didn't have any fresh basil, so I had to guess at the conversion to dried basil, and I think I added a bit too much because the pesto a bit thicker than I'd hoped. Better luck next time, though!
this is really the best pesto I've ever had, vegan or not!!! I sauteed the minced garlic in olive oil first, because I don't like the garlic aftertaste undercooked garlic sometimes leaves. I also added about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. the nutritional yeast gives it such a good cheesy flavor!
this pesto is soooo flavorful that I didn't need to add any salt or pepper!
so good! I recommend everyone try making this at least once!
Yum yum and yum! I made this for my Christmas dinner last night for a room full of non-vegans. I really wanted something good and simple to show them how great vegan food can be, and this was the PERFECT recipe for that! I tripled the sauce recipe because I was making two boxes of pasta, and I have tons left over, which will definitely get gobbled up very quickly! When I first tasted the sauce before mixing it with the pasta I was worried because it tasted really garlic-y, but once I mixed it in with the pasta is was perfect. I added a little lemon juice and made the homemade "parmesan" that someone had written a recipe out for in the comments section. That is also a great recipe and I'll be keeping some of that in my fridge always from now on! :>
I must confess I haven't actually used this recipe, but it's very close to how I normally make pesto. Nutritional yeast really does work well in place of the cheese!
To cut down on oil without leaving it too dry, I often throw some steamed green vegetables into the blender with everything else. Zucchini is great for it, and I've had success with kale and spinach too. Yum!
I make pesto all the time with other nuts; almonds, walnuts. I just made pesto with your basic pine nuts, a quarter of the leaves were basil and the rest was arugula. Wow is right!! Add some lemon juice and it's fantastic!
This was the first time I ever made Pesto. I just LOVE it! I have a big basil plant in my garden and love the flavor. Thanks! :>