Presto Pesto

Basil and other herbs from our garden

My son is not unlike many kids his age when it comes to his particular food preferences. Overall he eats a varied organic vegan diet, but he knows what he likes and he mostly sticks to it. Some of his favorites are black bean and sweet potato "quesadillas," cashew or chickpea hummus, guacamole, smoothies, various homemade or deli-prepared lentil/bean/veggie burgers, and pasta with marinara and sautéed veggies. I always love discovering a recipe that he enjoys, so I can add that to our repertoire of meals. Several months ago,  I made a pesto sauce with avocado that turned out ok. Recently, I came across another pesto recipe from "B Simply Healthy" that uses brazil nuts. I decided to create a combination of the two recipes. 

I don't have the first recipe offhand, but it was a basic pine-nut pesto with avocado to add creaminess and healthy fats. I used the B Simply Healthy recipe (below) as my base. Borrowing components from the first recipe, I added an avocado, a few extra nuts, a half cup of arugula, and 2 extra tablespoons of nutritional yeast.

B Simply Healthy's 

Pesto Recipe:

3 garlic cloves
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
8-10 brazil nuts
Sea salt (or garlic salt) + pepper, to taste
2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1. Mince the garlic in a food processor, then add the brazil nuts, nutritional yeast and salt and pepper. Pulse until finely chopped (I take a little of this mixture out and reserve it for a "parm-like topping for the pasta!)

2. Then, add in the basil (+ arugula) and process until finely chopped.

3. Slowly pour in the olive oil while processor is running and process until mostly smooth (add a little water if needed). (Add avocado and process)
Toss with pasta (and other optional ingredients like peas, mushrooms, onions, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.) ENJOY!

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I topped the pasta with chopped grape tomatoes, and it was delicious. My son asked for seconds and thirds, so this was a winner in my book!