VeganMoFo: Pesto

Parsley-Almond Pesto




Pesto. I was thinking about it the other day and it is probably hands down my favorite way to eat pasta. Generally I make basil pesto's but when I have greens hanging out in the fridge that need to go I'll use them instead. Arugula, parsley, cilantro even spinach. They are all good. The same thing goes for nuts. It's usually pine nuts for me. But if I am out there are always almonds, pistachios, cashews, sunflower seeds etc to be used and they are just as good and sometimes better.

The other day I found I had a lot of parsley and hadn't had anything to really use it in. So I strapped Reno in her highchair and made a big batch of the stuff and wrote down the recipe. I keep it simple. No nutritional yeast. No soy milk. I've been seeing those ingredients a lot recently in vegan pesto's and I don't think they are needed. I understand the use of the yeast for a cheesy flavor but I prefer mellow miso instead. The soy milk, I have no idea why that's used in pestos, maybe to use less oil? I don't know. I like mine to be a bit oily. One of these days when I'm bored I will try out a nooch, soy milk recipe just to see what it's like. For now I'll just stick with my own.

Parsley-Almond Pesto

2 cups semi packed parsley
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1-2 tablespoons mellow miso (start out with 1 taste it and see if you'd like more added...I'm a miso lover so I always add 2)
2 cloves garlic (medium size cloves)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste
water to help blend if needed. (i made it in the blender this time instead of the Cuisinart, what i usually use, so it needed the extra liquid to help blend it.)
extra almonds

Add everything except the oil and water to the blender and blend until it's chopped up well. Slowly drizzle the oil in until well blended and is the consistency that you like your pesto to be. Some like it chunky some like it creamy it's up to you.

Thin with a few tablespoons of water if you feel you need extra liquid either to thin it out or help process it.

If you aren't using right away and storing the pesto in the fridge coat the top with a thin layer of olive oil to keep it the pretty shade of green it should be.

To serve. Cook pasta according to cooking directions. Drain pasta, return to pot and mix with pesto and extra almonds to give a nice crunch and extra texture to your meal.

Besides using it with pasta it's also great on: pizza, garlic bread (mix room temp earth balance with a ton of garlic and a few teaspoons of pesto), mixed with vegan mayo for sandwich spreads or to dip french fries in...mmmmmmmmmm, spread a thin layer on crostini and top with bruschetta...the possibilities of pesto are endless.