I’m used to making pesto mostly during summer because of lots of basil growing in my mother’s home but this Saturday we were craving some, to eat with our pasta. You can eat pesto in different ways, put it on your sandwich with tofu and veggies, in your pasta, as a salad dressing, as a dipping sauce, or top your baked veggies. It’s your choice!
This pesto is made with fresh spinach, mint, toasted sunflower seeds, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, olive oil, fresh garlic, and salt. It is pretty simple but oh man the toasted sunflower seeds take this to another level. So is very important to toast them and to save some to sprinkle on top of the pasta when serving because they give the pasta extra crunchiness.
This recipe takes only 5 minutes! It is so easy to make and really tasty.
When I boil pasta, I want to put extra veggies so usually I add peas or broccoli florets. This time I added peas near the end of the boiling time of the pasta. So, tip: If you want more protein with your pasta adds peas to them!
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 2 cups of spinach
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup fresh mint
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tbs nutritional yeast
- juice of 1/2 of a lemon
- salt and pepper
Preparation
- Begin to lightly toast the sunflower seeds in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 4-5 minutes or stovetop in a small pan.
- Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients of the pesto in a food processor. In the end, add the sunflower seeds after they are toasted and pulse until combined. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides. It will form a thick and tasty pesto!
- Enjoy!
Notes
- You can keep the leftover pesto refrigerated in a sealed jar for 4-5 days.
