Vegan Basil Pesto

Our basil is bountiful at the moment, so we made this dairy-free pesto and it was just so delicious that I wanted to share this recipe. We have made pesto many times, but this recipe made the sweetest, tastiest pesto ever. We used cashew nuts instead of the traditional pine nuts as organic pine nuts are very expensive.

100 g fresh basil leaves
80 g cashew nuts (traditionally, pine nuts would be used here)
6 cloves of garlic, peeled
8 tbsp savoury nutritional yeast flakes (available at an organic shop)
2 tsp lemon or lime juice
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Toast the cashew nuts in a moderate oven for about 6 minutes or until slightly browned. Allow to cool. Put the basil leaves, cashews, garlic cloves, yeast flakes, juice and a little of the oil into a food processor and start to process the mixture. Gradually add the remaining olive oil in a thin stream until you reach the desired consistency, stopping to scrape down the sides of the food processor a couple of times. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

My batch made these two bottles, which will be kept in the fridge for up to a week. Tonight, we will cook some spiral pasta and stir through several tablespoons of the pesto with roasted pumpkin, sweet potato and zucchinis, which have been cut into 2cm cubes and roasted, oil free, for 40 minutes.

Summer Vegetables

It has been really hot here in Toowoomba this summer, but the vegetable garden is loving the warmth. Simon has been keenly tending our veges, and harvesting basket loads of beautiful zucchinis and beans. Here I have taken a photo of the chilli plants, with lots of green chillies hanging like Christmas decorations, as we wait for them to turn red, and of one our tomato bushes laden with enormous tomatoes. We are impatiently awaiting the first signs of colour so we can pick them before any insects sting them. How fulfilling it is to pick fresh vegetables and cook them that evening...garden to plate within half an hour!