This is my favorite pesto recipe. I love the intensity of the fresh basil and lemon juice balanced with the creamy raw cashews.
Of course, any of you that have ed&bv know this photo from the book:
Yes, it's a pretty photo. But, it's not how my pesto pasta looks. No, mine is adorned with much more sauce. I love my sauces, and this pesto is certainly no exception. So, my camera gives you a bowl of pasta more like this:
Oh yeaaahh, lots of pesto, and with a lil' extra dollop on the top. And, truth be told, I sometimes enjoy my pasta quite cooked through - past the 'al dente' point. I know it's against the pasta gods to overcook pasta, and 'al dente' is the proper way to serve it. But, when I want a real comfort food pasta, I go for the very cooked pasta. Along with lotsa' sauce, it hits the comfort sweet spot. And... truth be told again... I added even a little extra pesto to my pasta as I was working through it!
Now I need to make batches of pesto and keep in the fridge or freezer so I can recreate this pizza from last year. This was one of my all-time favorite pizzas and captured summer's bounty of heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil all in one perfect slice.
Ready to make pesto yet?
18 comments:
I love your photo! It's much more realistic than the book photo. :)
I'm growing basil, and I've been planning to make this as soon as I have enough. I wish I could make it grow faster!
Katy, me too... it can't grow fast enough for how much I love it and how much pesto I want to make!! Hope it grows for you quickly - and soon!
Gorgeous pesto-containing dishes, as always :0)
By the way, I'd love your opinion about a matter that I discussed in the second half of my current blog post, regarding baking supplies :0)
Yay, I just posted about your Lemony Cashew Basil Pesto! It is my ultimate favorite pesto sauce. The meal is a weekly staple in the summertime, and beyond if I can manage to keep some frozen without devouring it! Thank you for a kickin' awesome recipe.
That looks so delicious and summery! Is this made with lemon basil, or is it lemon and basil mixed together? In either case...YUM!
AH! So cool! I admit to being the lone vegan on the planet who owns no vegam cookbooks... I definitely need to try this though. I make SO FREAKING much pesto every summer because my kids eat it pretty much the way you do... pesto on top of more pesto with a side of pesto....
I need to try this recipe.
MMM Pesto! I better stock up before summer is over.
Here's to Mount Everests of pesto--not a wimpy little coating!
I just made a pesto pizza the other nite and blogged about it. Great minds cook alike, right? ;)
Pizza is good anytime, any place--and anything with pesto is that much better. Your crust looks so perfect.
Oooh, pesto is delicious on so many things, especially pizza!! And I love the way you pile gobs of it on your pasta :)
Since this is the second time this week I've read about how good this recipe is, I must make it!
Ooooooh I think I love pesto as much as you do! I have made it a few times this summer, and will make sure the next batch is this recipe - I've been dying to try it :)
I completely agree with how you like your pasta- I love lots of sauce and really soft pasta! And that pizza sounds great loaded up with your lemony cashew-basil pesto!
dreena! this is nora (the same one who talked to you a little on facebook today!) this recipe is next on my list to make because my little sister is the hardest in my family to please/impress with healthy vegan food, but man, does she love her pesto!! so i hope to win her over with this..thanks!!
Love pesto too!
Totally off topic...I used your crisp recipe from TEV yesterday. I substituted rhubarb for the apples and it was so good. I even topped it with the almond cream you recommended. I was tempted to have some for breakfast this morning but maybe I'll wait till snack time.
veggiegirl, I read your post, and think you'll find your way through gf baking in no time. There are a few recipes in ed&bv that are gluten-free - and some that are gf but I haven't really identified as such. Also, some with gluten intolerance have written me explaining that while they cannot have oats, some *can* have the McCann brand of oats (apparently something to do with the processing not being connected with gluten grains). This would open up a lot more options for you with baking & recipes, so you might want to check into that. Bob's Red Mill has an 'gf all-purpose flour' that you might want to experiment with too. I've recently picked some up, and though I haven't tested with it yet, I've heard good things about it. Oh, just remembered, I have a gf cookie recipe on the foodtv.ca site too - here it is: http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=8906 Good luck!
Thanks vegan addict - glad you love the cashew/basil/lemon combo as much as I do!
Yoel, it's regular basil, not lemon basil - then combined with fresh lemon juice in the pesto and also raw cashews.
tofumom, yes, you might be setting some record with not having any vegan cookbooks!! :)
Hey Nora! Awesome!! You'll show her the vegan light... just keep working on her favorites like you have planned. I adore your commitment to show your family that vegan foods are great - keep up the cooking. :)
Vegnextdoor, wow, it's been such a long time since I made that crisp. And I rarely use rhubarb - so puckering tart for me! But... my mom used to make strawberry rhubarb jam that was just *the best* and people would always ask her for the recipe. I should really start using rhubarb more, b/c when combined with the right elements, it's incredible. Oh, and I think it's perfectly fine to have for breakfast... all that fruit, and grains... seems to fit the breakfast bill to me! ;)
Thanks everyone... hope you love the pesto if you get to making it!
Hmm I will try this with wheat pasta
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I love the sauce too! Whenever I have pasta with any kind of sauce, it's more like soup with a few noodles thrown in. And petso is no exception. To me, it's really just a convenient way to get the most raw garlic into my mouth in one sitting as possible.
Dreena, I just bought your cookbook and made the pesto dish last night. It's amazing! Really creamy and a nice balance of flavors. I found that I had to add a half cup of oil/water because it was really thick like a paste (may be because my cashews were dry?) I'm worried I won't have leftovers for lunch, my husband ate it all up.
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