Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Pesto: Camera 1, Camera 2

One of my very favorite things about summer is fresh basil. I've been growing some in my garden and last week picked enough to whip up a batch of my Lemony Cashew-Basil Pesto from ed&bv.

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:

Katy said...

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!

Dreena said...

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!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

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)

Anonymous said...

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.

yoel said...

That looks so delicious and summery! Is this made with lemon basil, or is it lemon and basil mixed together? In either case...YUM!

Tofu Mom (AKA Tofu-n-Sprouts) said...

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.

Anonymous said...

MMM Pesto! I better stock up before summer is over.

urban vegan said...

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.

Janet said...

Oooh, pesto is delicious on so many things, especially pizza!! And I love the way you pile gobs of it on your pasta :)

Anonymous said...

Since this is the second time this week I've read about how good this recipe is, I must make it!

Judy said...

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 :)

Animal-Friendly said...

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!

nora said...

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!!

Everyday Superhero said...

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.

Dreena said...

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!

Latayy said...

Hmm I will try this with wheat pasta
Check out my blog

The Voracious Vegan said...

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.

Anonymous said...

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.