Abbotsford Community Kitchen: The Pesto Manifesto

I love basil. Go ahead and ask why don't I marry it. I would, but I'm not sure if it would have me. Unlike basil, I'm pretty high maintenance. The husband I already have will confirm this when he's finished making me coffee.

Thanks, hun.

Nothing sings the praises of the subtle embrace of basil more than a good pesto. I find store bought pesto to be bitter and very oily. And expensive. Holy moly is it expensive! So there's only one thing left to do: MAKE HOMEMADE PESTO!

First, the basics:

Pesto is a sauce originating in Genoa, Italy. It likely got its name from the Italian verb pestare, which means to pound or crush, which is what happens to the garlic and pine nuts in a traditional pesto, oftentimes in a mortar with its accompanying pestle. Here are the traditional ingredients:

Garlic
Pine nuts
Basil
Salt
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Pecorino
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Feel free to make a traditional batch. There are a million versions of the recipe available with the magic of Google.

A word about Parmigiano-Reggiano:

Parmigiano-Reggiano is literally The King of Cheeses. It is legally only allowed to contain three ingredients: milk, salt and rennet. This is what to look for when buying:

source: Wikipedia

What it is NOT is anything else. Disturbing fact: Outside of the European Union, the term "Parmesan" can legally be used for cheese products "similar" to the real deal. For those of you worried about this sort of thing, that can include such ingredients as: cellulose powder (aka wood shavings), potassium sorbate, and cheese cultures.

I'm not telling you what to buy and what not to buy. I've owned a few of the old reliable green shakers in my day, but would I add it to a homemade pesto? NO. Because you can really taste the knock-offs in this case.

That being said, I'm not including Parmigiano-Reggiano in this pesto recipe anyway.

Warning:

Die-hard pesto traditionalists should stop reading at this point. I'm about to sub in some ringer ingredients for those of us who are feeding giant locust families or don't feel like spending $12 on a half cup of pine nuts (that may be a slight exaggeration, but it's for good effect).

Here's the thing - due to allergies and illness, some people are on restrictive diets and when I cook for them, I'm always on the lookout for cheats. This pesto recipe is gluten, nut, and dairy free. And you will love it.

Ingredients:

1-2 cloves of garlic (I use two, but I love the stuff. Go to taste.)
1 generous handful of pepitas (Pumpkin seeds, yo)
1 bunch basil (About the same size as a bunch of parsley. You can find it in this quantity at good veggie and farmers markets)
1/2 bunch parsley (SuperFood extraordinaire, and I use any excuse to add it to my meals)
Juice of 1/2 lemon or 1-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar - optional (It just adds a little zing to the thing)
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
*4 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (say what? Bear with me.)*

Blender

source: Wikipedia

*Nutritional Yeast facts:
It's a deactivated strain of yeast, high in B-complex vitamins. You can buy it in most natural food stores and it's often used in vegetarian and vegan meal plans. Here's the thing: IT ADDS A NUTTY, CREAMY, CHEESY FLAVOUR to dishes and it's a surprisingly delicious cheese substitute.

Pesto Directions:

1. Add garlic, pepitas, and about 1/4 cup EVOO to blender and process until relatively smooth.
2. Add basil, parsley, salt, lemon juice (or balsamic vinegar), and nutritional yeast and continue blending, adding EVOO as necessary until all ingredients are blended.

Once blended, pesto should look like this:

Greetings, Comrade!

Add to pasta dishes, serve on grilled meat or veggies, use as a sandwich spread, eat with your fingers right out of the bowl if you don't want to share (not gonna judge).