MINT, BROCCOLI & CASHEW PESTO
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Pesto is an incredibly versatile sauce that can be enjoyed in countless ways. In addition to mixing it into pasta, noodles, rice, and spiralized vegetables, I love to use it as a dip for crackers and crudités, a topping for toast, pizza, salad, eggs, and baked potatoes, or a flavour booster for proteins.
This is my latest combo and I absolutely love it. Mint is super fresh and vibrant and always reminds me of spring. It works really well here with broccoli, spinach and cashews, but you could certainly substitute other nuts or seeds.
Ingredients for just over 2 cups of pesto:
3 cups broccoli
3/4 cup well-packed fresh mint
3/4 cup well-packed fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews, pre-soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes and drained
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (or substitute Parmesan cheese)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (or juice from 1/2 lemon)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 or more Tbsp water, bone broth (non-vegan), or additional olive oil, adjusted to desired consistency*
*Note: Use water or bone broth for a relatively low-oil pesto. For a smoother, creamier pesto, use additional olive oil instead.
Mint, Broccoli & Cashew Pesto on chickpea pasta. Served with a salad of baby lettuce, micro greens, roasted cashews, and homemade spicy roasted chickpeas.
Directions:
Put broccoli, mint, spinach, cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and cayenne in food processor or blender container. Blend well.
With processor/blender running, slowly drizzle in the oil and process until well combined, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides with a spatula as needed.
Add water, broth, or additional olive oil as needed for desired consistency and adjust seasoning and lemon juice to taste.
Mint, Broccoli & Cashew Pesto can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 to 2 weeks or frozen for several months. I like to freeze it using an ice cube tray so that it’s easy to thaw in single-serving portions.
Mint, Broccoli & Cashew Pesto served on a mixture of spiralized kohlrabi and konjac noodles and topped with roasted cashews and fresh mint.