Pesto is one of those things that once you try making it you will wonder why you ever bought it. It is surprisingly quick and easy and very tasty. This pesto is really healthy thanks to the mix of green leafy vegetables combined with loads of really good fats. Healthy fats are needed for brain health, cellular communication and regulation of inflammation, amongst many other things. The recipe is also very adaptable so you can use what you have to hand.
Ingredients (to serve 4)
- About two handfuls of leafy greens of choice, washed and chopped. You can use kale, spinach, rocket, basil, parsley or any other leafy greens. I like to use nettles from my garden! Or try a combination.
- 1 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil. Make sure it is extracted by mechanical means.
- 1 tbsp of seeds or nuts of choice. You could try walnuts, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, or a combination.
- 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (Available in health food stores. You can leave it out if you can’t find it but it adds a nice cheesy flavour).
- 1/2 tbsp of ground flax seed
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped.
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 tbsp water
- salt to taste
Method
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blitz into a smooth paste. Have a taste and feel free to add more of any of the ingredients if you would like, and add more water if it feels too dry.
To Serve
There are so many ways you could serve this pesto. I like to eat it on an oatcake as a snack or drizzled onto a salad. Of course the traditional way to eat it is with pasta. I would recommend good quality wholewheat pasta with lots of veg like broccoli or courgettes and perhaps some extra walnuts or pine nuts stirred through for even more brain powering good fats?
