Nutritious and Simple Vegan Basil Pesto
The addition of Nutritional Yeast to this dairy free recipe not only creates the wonderful parmesan tang that great pesto needs, but also gives you a great big vitamin B12 boost.* If you have never used it, nutritional yeast comes in delicate little yellow flakes, which melt on the tongue and taste like strong cheese. If added to a soup or sauce, it dissolves instantly, or you can sprinkle on top of complete dishes, as you would parmesan flakes.
Many of my vegan recipes are inspired by the beautiful book: The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples: The Art of Making Your Own Staples [a Cookbook]
Ingredients:
(Be adventurous and swap out basil for other green leaves, such as spinach or wild garlic, try other oils, and different nuts as preferred…)
2 cups basil leaves (packed in tightly)
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Salt and Pepper, season to taste
Equipment:
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Food Processor (or pestle and mortar)
Recipe:
Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor, until desired consistency is reached. We prefer ours a little course, so that the nutty texture of the pine nuts is still present.
Lasts for at least a week in the fridge … but we have never had any around longer to know how long it could last … we love fresh pesto too much in our family 🙂
*Most supermarkets (in the UK at least) now stock nutritional yeast, but you can also buy it from health food shops or from international online stores like Amazon. I favour the Marigold brand.
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