Even the most celebrated pesto recipes can mislead you into making a pale, dull green paste. Use my recipe or someone else’s; use a knife or a food processor to start. Neither matters! But whatever you do, if you’re using an appliance, do not leave the motor running while you add oil.
Why not?
Because whatever soft nut you’re using – pine nuts, walnuts – has a very small window of time between being minced and being butter. If your pesto is pastel green, you likely had your food processor or blender running ever so slightly too long.
Not to mention that basil and many other greens are delicate! Friction from fast blades in constant motion creates heat that may be just enough to cook them and dampen their verdancy.
Stir-in your oil instead.
Vegan Pesto
Description
Honestly, my instructions are more important than my ingredients. Yet this is also my family's favorite pesto!
Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare
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Place yeast or cheese into a mixing vessel. Set aside.
Mince or Pulse
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Using the flat edge of a large knife, press salt into garlic to make a paste.
Alternatively, combine salt and garlic in a food processor. -
Mince- or pulse-in basil one handful at a time.
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Mince- or pulse-in pine nuts, then transfer everything from cutting board or work bowl to mixing vessel with yeast or cheese.
This is the step that preserves the rich hue of traditional, restaurant, and store-bought pesto.
Finish
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Stir-in olive oil. Add more if desired.
Note
I seemingly never find basil the same way in my go-to grocery store! Sometimes, it's sold in bunches; other times, as small hydroponic plants. The day I measured and recorded this recipe, I had 2 blister packs with a net weight of 1.5 oz/43 g (including stems).
Watch Vegan Pesto on YouTube Shorts!
