Happy Thursday! As you’re read this, I am probably on my way to my very first blogging conference! Squeeeee! It was totally last minute but I am seriously dying of excitement. I don’t think I will write up a post just about it, but I will probably tell y’all bits and pieces in various blog posts. But now, food. What you’re actually here for. Because this is a food blog. Yeeeep. I ran to the store yesterday to pick up a couple of things before leaving town, and lo-and-behold, I found a giant box of organic basil on clearance for $0.75… seventy-five cents, seriously?! So, of course, into the cart it went. Further down the aisle, I found a jar of peeled garlic ALSO on clearance. Okay, so obviously the universe was trying to tell me something. Time to make some pesto!
So, in typical Valentina fashion, I ran home to make pesto and… discovered I had no nuts. No pecans, no walnuts, no almonds, NOTHING. But… I did have a big jar of almond meal. Close enough, right? I’m here to tell you that my experiment totally worked. You can make pesto with almond meal! I mean, really, almond meal is basically just ground-up almonds, so all you’re doing is saving yourself some work. You’re welcome 😉 Pesto is so easy and you can make it with basically anything! All you need is a leafy green herb like basil or mint (spinach works, too), garlic, some kind of nut, oil, and a hard cheese like parmesan! If you’re vegan, easily sub in some nutritional yeast for the same kind of flavor. Now, throw everything in a food processor and blend it up. That’s it! Super tasty, simple, and it can easily be catered to your personal tastes. Who said Italian food was difficult?
- 5 cups fresh basil leaves
- 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
- ½ cup olive oil, more or less as needed
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- ½ cup almond meal {or finely chopped nuts}
- salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste
- Wash and dry basil very well, and place in a blender or food processor.
- Add in the peeled garlic, parmesan cheese, and about half of the oil and half of the almond meal.
- Pulse until finely chopped, then add the rest of the almond meal.
- Pulse until combined, then add the rest of the oil.
- Blend until smooth and well-incorporated! If the pesto appears too oily, add a little more almond meal. If it's too dry and chunky, add more oil.
- Finally, season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Store in an airtight container in the fridge, and enjoy!
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