Sttudio292

 

The traditional basil pesto is made of  pine nuts, olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic and of course basil leaves. In these times of scarcity due to Covid lockdown, of varied products, we are going to re-invent this classic.

 

A kind neighbour shared some of her farm fresh basil with me and we had to make something from the beautiful leaves or they would have withered in this hot weather. Keeping them in the fridge for later use was not a solution as  they would have still lost the vibrant green colour you get when you make pesto from fresh leaves.

 

I rummaged around the kitchen and came up with most ingredients except pine nuts and parmesan cheese. I substituted the pine nuts with raw peanuts. In India, pinenuts are mostly available in winter and are prohibitively expensive. Peanuts are readily available, or you can use any nut of choice, walnut, cashew nut or almond.

 

I made two batches, one with olive oil and one from regular vegetable oil. I did this as most households do not readily have olive oil available and they should not refrain from making this pesto for the lack of olive oil.  I used rice bran oil which I use for my regular cooking.

 

I found no discerning taste difference between the two batches. I have totally omitted the cheese and made it a vegan recipe. So, if you are not a perfectionist and sometimes like to play outside the lines, this recipe is for you.

 

Making the pesto took all of 10 minutes, from plucking, washing, roasting and blending. It is easier than ordering or buying from the store. You also get a pesto that is absolutely fresh, preservative free and tailor made to you and your family’s taste.

 

Homemade Vegan Basil Pesto

 

Ingredients ~

2 cups packed basil leaves

¼ cup raw peanuts

½ cup oil

4 garlic pods, peeled

Salt to taste

 

Method ~

Pluck the leaves off the hard stems and wash thoroughly.

Place the peanuts in a pan and dry roast them till fragrant.

In a blender, grind the peanuts. Add the garlic pods, basil leaves, half the oil and grind till semi coarse.

Open the blender, add the remaining oil and salt and grind again. Leave it a little coarse to get bits of the basil leaves.

Take out in a bowl and make sure there is a layer of oil on the top as it oxidizes very fast.

 

Tips ~

You can use ready roasted and salted peanuts, just adjust the salt in the pesto accordingly.

The layer of oil is necessary to stop the oxidation. I tried to play the oil down and it started oxidizing while I was photographing it.

It freezes well. Can freeze in ice trays, take out the cubes once frozen and fill in a food grade bag and freeze or potion it out directly in bags.

This recipe has a subtle garlic flavour. If you and your family like a strong garlic flavour, you can add 2 more pods.

You can add ¼ cup of parmesan or hard cheddar cheese while blending if you want. It has to be a hard, crumbly cheese.

 

This article is by Shivani Khanna

All pictures are personal images of Sttudio 292