Pesto Genovese

Since my husband can not eat tomato sauce any longer, I had to come up with a dairy-free version of a sauce he would enjoy. I grow my own herbs so basil was the way to start. I have since created a frozen green pea and mint recipe also. 

Recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free (option), soy-free

• Serves	Total Time	Prep Time
  6-8	15 minutes	15 minutes

• Ingredients 

   2 cups basil (remove stems)
  1/2 cup of organic olive oil
  2 tbsp of nuts such as (pine nuts, cashew and or pecans)
  2 cloves of garlic
  salt to taste
  2 tbsp of softened butter alternative
  2 tbsp of goat/sheep cheese Romano (optional)

• Instructions  

  1. .In a blender place the following ingredients in this order:
  2. Basil packed into the bottom of blender, nuts, and garlic.
  3. Turn on blender and pulse while adding olive oil through the opening on the top cover.
  4. If the ingredients get dry you can add a tbsp or water to loosen it up. 
  5. Put the pesto mix in a bowl.
  6.  Add cheese and butter alternative then blend by hand
  7. Set aside
  8. Use either 1 tbsp pasta hot water or 1 tbsp of heated water and add to pesto. Stir
  9. This will yield enough for 1 pound of pasta

• Marian's Personal Touches

  1. I purchase sheep cheese Romano from Trader Joes
  2. I also like to grate a hard goat cheese such as Gouda to replace the Romano. 
  3. For a dairy-free version omit the cheese and use a little more garlic.
  4. You can use butter alternatives such as Earth Balance, coconut butter.
  5. I suggest using a powerful blender such as Vita MIx, Nutri Bullet, or Blendtec. 
  6. I use pesto on many foods such as pasta, rice, salmon and salads.