Creamy Lemon Pesto

I really don’t know whether to call this pesto or dip or sauce since it can be eaten as all three.

When I first started eating a plant based diet, I tried all kinds of recipes that had all kinds of strange (to me) ingredients: garbanzo bean flour, tahini, aquafaba, monkfruit, nutritional yeast and the list went on and on.  Even more perplexing was: where did you buy them since the local grocery stores did not seem to carry them and if you asked for them, they looked at you like you were asking where they kept the magic beans.

Yeast?  Aisle 3 with the baking stuff.

No.  Not yeast.  Nutritional yeast.

Um.. Is there a difference?

Only if you are planning on eating it….

The good news is, all these “weird” ingredients are now fairly easy to find, many of them at the regular grocery stores, but definitely online. They’ve gotten so easy to find, and I use them in so many recipes, that they have now taken over my pantry.  I’ve actually had to designate a small shelf for all the “normal” stuff I no longer eat like white flour, vegetable oil, and sugar. Of course, this leads to problems too, since it is all crammed together in a tiny space.

Tim(at the holidays when he is helping cook the non-vegan stuff): Where is the flour?

Me: Third shelf on the left

Tim: No.  The real flour, not that weird stuff that you eat.

Me: Third shelf on the left.

Tim:  No, it’s not.  I’m looking there, and there is no regular, normal flour.

Me: (marching over to the pantry, reminding myself not to dump the actual, real flour on his head) Right here.  In front of you.  The one out in front that says, “Pillsbury Flour”

Tim: Oh.  I didn’t see it there.

Me: Really?  Really!!??

So, I love this recipe, because there is nothing “weird” here, it can be used in about 100 different ways, and it tastes really good! Oh, and there is no white flour in it. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for about 2 hours, then drained
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 cup basil
• 2 cloves roasted garlic (you can use raw garlic, but it will definitely be a stronger taste, so you might want to cut back on it a bit. Plus, raw garlic does not sit well with some people.)

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a high speed blender, beginning with the liquids (lemon juice, almond milk and oil).  Puree till smooth and creamy.

I use this as a base for my Three Grain Spring Salad, as a pesto for pasta or spaghetti squash, as a dip for an appetizer or, by adding a bit of water, as a drizzle over green beans, to add a bit of flavor and zing.

Enjoy!