April 16, 2007pesto and an updatehello! sorry that it has been so long since my last post. i had intended to update the cookbook blog every week, but since the last post, there's been quite a change in my life: i'm pregnant! this is wonderful news but it certainly shook up my life a little and the dust is just now beginning to settle. this week, i am giving you one of the four recipes for pesto that will be in the cookbook. that's right: four! this is the basic pesto recipe and the one that i make the most often. Pesto makes 8-12 servings I am a sucker for pesto. This is a way to make it without using much oil, and I've added spinach not only to keep the colors bright but to add extra vitamins. I'm packing vitamins into your diet without your permission. Don't just pigeonhole pesto as a pasta sauce. Add pesto to your tofu scramble, to polenta, or use it as a spread for a sandwich of grilled marinated veggies. One of my favorite snacks is to spread a little on a slice of pita bread and broil it in the oven. 3 T pine nuts 2 oz or 2 cups loosely packed basil, leaves only 1 cup packed baby spinach leaves 3-4 cloves garlic, crushed 2 T vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast (optional) 1 t sea salt 1 T olive oil 1-2 T fresh lemon juice 1/3-1/2 cup vegetable broth Toast pine nuts in a single layer in a toaster oven or oven at 400 degrees until they're brown. Watch carefully as this won't take very long and you don't want them to burn. Add toasted pine nuts, basil, spinach, garlic, vegan parmesan, and salt to food processor, begin to process, and add olive oil while processing. Stop and use plastic spatula to scrape down the sides if necessary. Add lemon juice and process. While processing, add broth slowly in a stream and stop when consistency is somewhere between a paste and a sauce, not more than 1/2 cup. Divide pesto into an ice cube tray for easy portions. Place in freezer and after 24 hours, transfer cubes of pesto to a freezer bag.
posted by joanna @ 4:04 PM
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