Cool Off with Green Pesto
Want to go green with a delicious recipe? Want to cool off during the hot summer months? If so, try out this unique pesto recipe! This pesto sauce can be spread on sandwiches, poured onto veggies for cool salads, or stirred into cooked linguine pasta for a special occasion. Traditional pestos can be unsustainable, due to the amount of cheese needed to create them. 1 pound of cheese uses an average of 350 gallons of water. This recipe uses miso paste instead of parmesan cheese, making this recipe more water efficient (it takes 257 gallons of water to create for 1 pound of miso paste) and tastier due to the higher umami content of miso. Feel free to tag Grades of Green when you make this dish.
Ingredients:
– 2 cups fresh basil leaves (tightly packed)
-1 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves (tightly packed)
– 4 large cloves of garlic
– ¼ cup pine nuts
– 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
– ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
– ½ tablespoon of miso paste (any miso works)
– Salt (to taste)
– Pepper (to taste)
Directions:
– In the food processor, blender, or a motar and pestle, blend the basil, Italian parsley, garlic, pine nuts, miso paste, and lemon juice.
– Gradually add the olive oil into the mixture, a spoonful at a time. Keep blending and pouring in olive oil until mixture is smooth.
– Taste the mixture, add salt and pepper to taste and blend one last time.
– Serve immediately or chill in a container and eat within 5 days. You can store this for longer by freezing the pesto.
Pesto flavor and texture comes down to individual preference. If you want something creamier, add more pine nuts and garlic. If you want something saucier, add more olive oil. Feel free to edit this recipe until it is just right for you!