Around here, the evening temperatures are dropping, and it’s starting to get a little chilly. The leaves of the mighty maple are on the cusp of turning yellow and so are the little green leaves on the basil plants growing in my kitchen garden back home.
It’s time to harvest the basil before the summer’s prized herb starts slipping away.
Every year towards the end of the summer, my mom and I start gathering up all the basil and taking it to the kitchen to whip up batch after batch of a family favorite: Pesto. While raw pesto is delicious fresh from the food processor, it also freezes exceptionally well, allowing us to carry a delightful taste of summer well into the winter. You’ll almost always find a container of homemade pesto hidden in one of the families’ freezers, whether it be in my North Philly apartment, my brothers west Philly house, or my parents beautiful countryside home.
Our family recipe uses all of the classic pesto ingredients minus the cheese, to create a delicious vegan version of this Italian-inspired dish. Nutritional yeast replaces the Parmesan, but don’t worry, any non-vegan friends surely won’t notice the difference. The pesto is heavy on flavor and nutrients. If you have an abundance of basil on your hands, be sure to make extra to store in the freezer!
Vegan Pesto with Whole Wheat Linguine
For the pesto:
-2 medium cloves garlic
-1 heaping, packed cup of basil
-1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp. pine nuts
-1/2 cup nutritional yeast
-1 tsp. salt
-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
-2 Tbsp. reserved pasta water, optional
Remaining ingredients:
-1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (omit if freezing)
-1 lb whole wheat linguine
-Basil and sliced tomatoes for garnish, optional
Cook pasta according to directions, reserving 2 tbsp. of pasta water before draining.
Meanwhile, pulse garlic in a food processor. Add in basil, nutritional yeast, 1/3 cup pine nuts, and salt. Begin to puree ingredients, slowly drizzling olive oil into the mixture through the top of the food processor. Add the 2 tbsp. of reserved pasta water and puree until smooth.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp. pine nuts, and toast until pine nuts begin to brown. Remove from heat.
Return drained, cooked pasta to the pan and stir in pesto mixture. Place in serving bowl. Sprinkle sun-dried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts on top. Garnish with fresh basil and tomatoes, if desired.
No Comments
Simply Life
September 19, 2010 at 2:32 pmoh this looks amazing!
Kristen (swanky dietitian)
September 19, 2010 at 5:38 pmI just love pesto! The one time I made it, it didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped.
I love the addition of sun dried tomatoes. yum!
Jose
September 19, 2010 at 7:17 pmCool idea! I love pesto and have an overabundance of basil in my garden right now. I’ve never used nutritional yeast but I’m intrigued by vegan cooking. I’ll check out my co-op for yeast and give this a go!
BitterSweet
September 20, 2010 at 10:08 amHa, what great timing- I guess there’s something in the air that just calls for pesto! I posted another version of it today, too. Love your tomato-packed take on it!
melindard
September 20, 2010 at 11:26 amLooks fantastic. I love the use of whole wheat pasta and changing it a little to make it vegan.
The Candid RD
September 21, 2010 at 6:25 amThis sounds excellent! I think the NY would taste even better than the parmesan, actually. I’m so addicted to that stuff.
Thanks for sharing your recipe. Now I need to look for a substitute for the garlic. HA! It’s tough not being able toe at garlic. It really is.
Vegan Pesto with Sun-dried Tomatoes | Grace D's Photograpy
September 24, 2010 at 1:12 am[…] Vegan Pesto This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Food. Bookmark the permalink. ← Picking Apples […]
Vegan Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms « Food-Fitness-FreshAir
March 7, 2011 at 5:30 am[…] -2 heaping cups cooked brown rice -3 Tbsp. Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese -1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. Vegan Pesto (Omit sundried tomatoes) -1 1/2 cup spinach, chopped -Olive oil -Garlic Roasted Tomatoes (See […]
Vegan Kale Pesto « Food-Fitness-FreshAir
March 29, 2011 at 3:31 pm[…] sadly by this time of year, I’ve generally used up all of my basil pesto. The previous summer’s batches can only last so long in my freezer. Seeing as though herbs […]
Summer Pesto Potato Salad « Food-Fitness-FreshAir
July 16, 2011 at 6:13 am[…] 1/4 cup pesto (recipe here) […]
Vegan Pesto to Freeze « Food-Fitness-FreshAir
October 15, 2011 at 6:10 am[…] Every year, as the first frost sets in, I harvest all the remaining green-outfitted basil in my garden and get my food processor going. It’s a tradition my mom always carried out since before I can remember, continually gracing our plate with a taste of summer even in the coldest of winter days. For me, after the first few snows, the only way to get through the rest of winter is to remember summer’s on its way. A little summer heaven in the kitchen always helps to feed this fire. […]
Summer Favorites « Food-Fitness-FreshAir
August 7, 2012 at 11:02 am[…] Vegan Pesto: Warning – This is addicting. From pasta to toast-topping, pesto brightens up the day. […]