Dairy free pesto

Pesto is one of those perfect foods. It is delicious as a topping, a spread or even by itself. I lived in Northern Italy for a few years and used to make the recipe I learned there. That called for the traditional cheese and pine nut mixture. It had to be chopped by hand and was sooo delicious. Now that we are pretty much dairy free, I have a new recipe that serves us very well. The pesto is a little thicker but lasts longer and has a bold and zippy taste. It holds its own when mixed with eggs, zucchini noodles, squash, pork chops or on burgers. I even have a lot of fun mixing about 2 tablespoons of it into meatloaf for a nice change. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup of basil leaves, packed
• 1/4 pepitas (raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds)
• 1/3 cup cashews (raw, unsalted)
• 1 1/2 tbl fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tbl minced garlic
• a pinch of sea salt
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil. Save the EVOO and use just plain virgin olive oil

Directions:

Wash and de-stem all of the basil leaves. Dry them so you don't add water to your pesto. In a food processor or very good blender, add the spices, pepitas and nuts. Blend with 1/2 of the olive oil. Blend down until this is pretty smooth. Add the basil leaves last and drizzle in the remaining olive oil while it blends. I stop frequently to use a spatula to clear the sides of the blender. Once finished, put it all into a jar and into the refrigerator so the heat from blending doesn't change the fresh green color of the pesto. If you are planning on making lots of it, add a little olive oil to the tops of the jars so it keeps moist. The great part about being dairy free is not having mold issues so quickly. 

When you pull it out of the cold to use it will be set up. Once you let it reach room temp, the oil will liquify again and it will look as it did when it was fresh made. 

Pesto eggs: Scramble your eggs in a bowl with a fork and then transfer to a medium heat pan or pot. Stir frequently to avoid making fried eggs. I use a spatula in a pot so it cooks slower. (Thanks Gordon Ramsay!) Near the end, add a teaspoon to tablespoon of pesto depending on how many eggs you made.

Pesto Burgers: I love a good caprese salad. There is something so refreshing yet comforting about layered mozzarella, tomato, basil and olive oil. I especially love a little balsamic vinegar over the top. When I have a sweet tooth, I use a little reduced balsamic. It is like candy. To translate that into a burger, I layered the burger (the meat had garlic and onion tops in it) with a tomato, fresh mozzarella di bufala, bacon and pesto. 

Other ideas: Pesto mixed in with a squash and zucchini that has been quartered. I then cooked a pork chop with it. I also use the pesto in my meatloaf and added extra bell peppers to the mix.