1 pound pasta
2 cups fresh spinach
2 cups fresh basil (fresh is essential for the basil)
3-4 medium garlic cloves
1/2 cup carrots, julienned
1 cup walnuts (slivered almonds will work)
3-4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 cup vegan cheese, optional
4-5 medium white cap mushrooms
1-2 tablespoons lemon pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tablespoon thyme
1/2 tablespoon mixed Italian herbs
1 (8 ounce) package grape tomatoes, halved
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and set aside. To a food processor, add spinach, basil, garlic, carrots, walnuts, vinegar, olive oil, nutritional yeast, and cheese; puree.
2. If the puree is too thick, add a little water or vegetable stock. Once everything is pretty pureed, continue processing while adding the mushroom caps. Blend in the lemon pepper, salt, pepper, thyme, and mixed herbs.
3. Heat a saucepan with a little oil or balsamic vinegar, and add tomatoes. Cook just until warm and slightly soft, then set aside in a bowl.
4. Taste and adjust seasonings for the sauce, then add to the saucepan. Add pasta, and stir to combine with sauce. To serve, plate pasta, and add tomatoes on top.
This pesto would also be great on almost any sandwich or just as a dip for pita, etc. Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Source of recipe: Completely improvised this recipe last night and it was fairly amazing. I've never made green pesto before and it will turn out even better tonight.