HEALTH & WELLNESS BLOG

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (can use half the basil leaves with other greens such as kale, spinach, swiss chard, beet greens or arugala)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Romano, Parmesan-Reggiano or Asiago cheese (about 2 oz)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup walnuts or pine nuts or pistachios
• 3 garlic cloves, minced

Additions

• Sun-dried tomatoes (soaked in water before blending)
• Crushed tomatoes
• Cooked eggplant
• Olives
• White Beans
• Tofu
• Ricotta cheese

Directions

• Place garlic and greens in a food processor or blender and process until the leaves become a paste. You may need to use a spatula around the edges of the blender or processor to keep the ingredients together.
• Add walnuts, continue to blend until the nuts are ground.
• Drizzle in olive oil as you keep the machine running.
• When you have a small paste, transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheese.

Pesto originated in Genova, the capital city of the Liguria region in Northern Italy near the Mediterranean Sea where the Italians believe the basil grows best and is its main ingredient.

Pesto is a raw food, traditionally prepared with mortar and pestle but most of us will use a blender or food processor. It can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for about 5-7 days or frozen for longer. I recommend making a large amount and using it not only on pasta but also potatoes, grains and vegetables. It can be spread on bread for sandwiches and tortillas for tasty wraps.

Your pesto can be modified to include whatever leafy greens are growing in your garden or available at the Farmers Market. Making your own pesto allows you to not only use greens that need to be consumed but can enhance the nutritional value and taste just the way you like it. And you can cater to the desires of your guests if they are vegetarian or are not able to tolerate the typical amount of garlic, etc.

If creating a pesto that is prepared with especially local ingredients is your goal, you’ll want to substitute California walnuts in place of the pine nuts and use locally sourced olive oil. Walnuts contain a unique essential fatty acid, alpha linolenic acid (ALA) that is good for our brains and cardiovascular system. Walnuts also contain magnesium and traces of iron and zinc. Magnesium helps control our blood pressure, sleep and regulates digestion among many other benefits.

It’s quite amazing how many greens you need to prepare a serving of pesto which means more nutrition per mouthful. By using kale, beet greens, spinach, parsley or chard as part of the greens instead of only basil, you can dramatically increase the amount of magnesium, calcium, iron, vitamin A and C. The Italians won’t consider it true pesto, however I believe most will enjoy it as long as there is plenty of garlic and tasty olive oil. And why not add cilantro or carrot tops?

A vegan version of pesto is possible by adding nutritional yeast to impart the flavor of cheese while adding B vitamins instead of the calcium in cheese. Vegan parmesan-like cheeses are available if desired.

The calories in pesto can be impressive mainly from the olive oil, cheese, and nuts although the nuts and oil are plant fats which have protective health benefits. You can use less cheese with added nutritional yeast to decrease the animal fat. I recommend using olive oil grown in Santa Ynez Valley or Ojai with the most polyphenols which will have the most flavor. Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants that protect our cells against aging, heart disease and cancer. When necessary, the olive oil can be reduced with water or moisture from tomatoes.

These changes will produce a delicious food, however, it will be a new recipe and not traditional pesto. I also like adding white beans or tofu to my pasta to enhance the protein content while diluting the fat, and sometimes I top my pesto pasta or vegetables with ricotta cheese…very yummy.

Bon appetite!