Make your own homemade pesto using a variety of herbs and vegetables. We’ll show you the right ingredients and recipe to whip up a delicious pesto all on your own.Having a crack at homemade vegetable pesto yourself is a great way to reuse kitchen vegetable scraps, thus saving them from heading straight for the dumpster. You’re not just saving money – you’re also playing your part in the fight against the widespread problem of food waste.
Homemade Pesto: Basic Ingredients
You can use a wide range of herbs and vegetables when making your own homemade pesto. You’ll need the following (organic!) ingredients:
- 1/3 cup seeds or nuts – e.g. pine nuts or hazelnuts
- 1/2 cup olive oil, canola oil or germ oils
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup raw vegetables or herbs such as wild garlic, basil or paprika.
- 1 tablespoon of salt and a pinch of pepper
If you want it spicy, try adding some radish to your homemade pesto – including the green leaves. Carrot greens also add taste and would otherwise find their way into the garbage.
You can of course adjust the added amounts of these ingredients according to your own personal taste. Remember to add a crunchy base ingredient and parmesan to ensure the pesto retains its classic consistency. If you’re vegan, simply drop the parmesan or try replacing it with a small amount of nutritional yeast. Garlic, salt and pepper lend its distinct flavor with the oil serving as the flavor carrier.
Once you’ve gathered all your ingredients, it’s off to work!
DIY-Pesto in 5 easy steps
- Peel and press the garlic or cut into small pieces and combine into a small powder.
- Wash the vegetables and herbs, dry and remove any remaining stalks or roots.
- Without using oil or butter, roast the seeds and/or nuts in a pan at low heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
- Using a food processors or blender, mix together the vegetables, seeds, parmesan (or nutritional yeast) and oil. Then add the garlic and mix.
- Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste and voilá! You just made homemade pesto!
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This text was translated from German into English by Evan Binford. You can view the original here: Pesto selber machen: Gesundes Rezept mit einfachen Zutaten
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