The basil season runs from the end of June to the end of September, depending how much sun and rain has kissed the fields. This summer take advantage of this vitamin K packed herb by whipping up a raw, vegan and gluten free pesto that can be enjoyed in a number of different ways. I use it on pizza in the place of tomato sauce, on gluten free pasta, as a pate’ on flakers,etc…
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup organic olive or hemp oil
- 4oz. fresh organic basil(approximately 2 cups loosely packed)
- 3 cloves fresh organic garlic
- 1 teaspoon pink Himalyan salt (adjust to taste)
- juice of 1 small organic lemon
- 3/4 cup raw shelled organic hemp seeds
- 4 tbsp raw organic pine nuts (optional)
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
Directions:
Make in a blender or food processor. Tear basil leaves from stems and put aside. Add oil, garlic and lemon juice and blend. Add basil, hemp, pine nuts, yeast flakes and salt. Pulse or blend until desired consistency. You may need to use a spatula a few times to move the mixture back down to reach the blades.
Feel free to play with the ingredients, you can substitute walnuts for the pine nuts, use more or less lemon, salt, garlic, yeast flakes, etc. Play with this and customize it to your taste.
The best part is this recipe leaves out the unhealthy parmesan cheese and replaces it with hemp and yeast flakes, two highly nutritious foods. Enjoy!