When she first asked me for a recipe highlighting basil, my first thought went to pesto, of course. But she already had a classic basil pesto recipe, so I had to whip something else up for her. But I have a little spin on pesto that I wanted to share with you...
First thing I do is use walnuts instead of pine nuts. I started doing this because when I went to buy pine nuts I was shocked at the price. What the heck??? I always have walnuts in my freezer because I throw them in salads and pasta all the time, so I decided to save a few bucks and use what I had. Nuts really only add texture and fat, so I'm not sure why pine nuts get to hold center court. Give another nut a chance!
Second thing in my flip is a reduction in the amount of oil. I use a little over a 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, and then stream in water until I get the consistency I want. No one I've made this for has ever thought it was less than a classic pesto. Shhhhhh...don't tell anyone that it's actually healthier for them.
After watching Forks over Knives and reading The China Study, I can't help but think about my indecent little love affair with cheese. Basically, the China Study shows the direct correlation between cancer, heart disease and obesity and our diets. No big surprise there, really. It is our dependence on animal protein that is at the heart of this study. Pretty compelling, but pretty disturbing to a girl who loves an ice cold glass of milk and cheese, cheese, cheese (not at the same time). I'm a pretty good master of creating interesting, delicious plant-based meals. I can get by with just a little bit of chicken or fish every now and then. I could do without pork and red meat pretty easily. But cheese.....really? I need to give up cheese? What are you trying to do to me? Oh yeah, keep me healthy. The China Study shows how cancer is retarded, even reversed, in lab rats who are given a diet comprised of only 5% animla protein. So once again, I am going to try to break up with cheese. OK, I tried that before, a full break up in unrealistic (we've been together for decades!), but when I can make a simple change, I'll do it.
Oh for Pete's sake, how did I get so serious when we started out talking about basil???? So here is my dairy free pesto. I simply replace the parmesan with nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast adds a nutty, buttery flavor to sauces, soups, dressings, etc. It's also delish sprinkled on popcorn. And because it's full of B12, which we generally only found in animal protein, it's a great addition to people on a plant-based diet, It started out as a vegetarian supplement. Give it a try; you'll be surprised at how you can get the same wonderful flavor without the cheese (weep, weep, sniff, sniff).
Dairy-free Pesto Sauce
3 garlic cloves, peeled
¼ cup walnuts
4 cups packed basil leaves, stems removed
3-4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup water
Salt & pepper to taste
· Place garlic and walnuts in a food processor and pulse to finely chop.
· Add basil, nutritional yeast and oil and process until a paste begins to form. Scrape down the sides.
· With the motor running, slowly add water until desired consistency, scraping down the sides as necessary. You may use less or more water depending on your preference.
· Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Yum it up!
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