I love pesto. Along with mustard and chocolate, it's up there with my most-craved foods.
Unfortunately, most pesto served in restaurants or sold pre-made in stores contains Parmesan cheese. Dairy in my pesto? No thanks!
Another downer with pesto is that it traditionally requires pine nuts. Pine nuts are expensive.
I really wanted to find a way to satisfy my pesto cravings at home without breaking the bank.
One of our favorite restaurants on the east side of Michigan serves a tofu scramble with a basil cashew pesto. I'm a sucker for it every time, and have to hold myself back from ordering nothing but a side of pesto and a spoon.
Their pesto inspired me to attempt my own cashew pesto. I was dealing with a pesto craving a couple of weeks ago and hadn't acquired my basil plant yet, so I gave this a whirl with a spinach/kale blend. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome! You could really use any green here - arugula, mizuna, beet greens - you name it!
I first enjoyed the pesto tossed with some spiralized zucchini, artichoke hearts, grape tomatoes and Beyond Meat Grilled strips.
It made for a really light, fresh, spring-like meal that also had a decadent feel to it.
Cashew Spinach Pesto
1/2 C. Raw Cashews
2 lightly packed C. greens of choice
1/3 C. Nutritional Yeast flakes
3 Garlic cloves
1 T. Lemon juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
First put the garlic in the food processor to mince. Then add the cashews, then the rest of the ingredients and process until a smooth-ish paste forms. My pesto is oil free, so you may need to add a splash or two of water as you go to get the desired consistency. Taste and season as you go.
This pesto is great as a sandwich spread, pasta sauce or a crudités dip.
Give this pesto a try next time you want to try something different on your pasta or veggies!
Also, if you find yourself in Ann Arbor or Detroit Michigan, get into Seva and try their basil cashew pesto. Wash it down with Left Foot Charley's Cinnamon Girl cider. Trust me.
Bowl of the Week!
This week's bowl has a complex flavor profile, but is not complex to put together. You could have a hearty, delicious bowl of food on the table in 30 minutes flat. Also, those roasted veggies and chickpeas are going to make your house smell ah-mazing.
The real star here, in my opinion are the maple roasted chickpeas. These babies are delicious, and so versatile. They make great crouton substitutes for salads, and I often find myself snacking on leftovers straight out of the fridge.
If you've never worked with beetroot before, I feel I must warn you...these guys can be messy! Everything they touch will aquire a reddish-purple stained hue. It will come off your skin....eventually. Beets are crazy delicious and incredibly nutrient dense, so I put up with this somewhat annoying attribute.
Roasted Beet and Apple Chickpea Kale bowl with Honey Dijon sauce
3 Beets, peeled and diced
2 Small- medium apples, cored and diced
1 T. Balsamic vinegar
Dash of salt
Maple roasted Chickpeas
1 Bunch Kale
1- 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 C. Uncooked Millet
Dijon honey mustard sauce
Chopped walnuts (optional)
Maple roasted Chickpeas
1.5 Cups cooked or 1 can Chickpeas
1/4 C Maple syrup
2 T. Tamari, liquid aminos or soy sauce
2 T. Apple cider vinegar
2 t. Liquid smoke (optional)
Dijon honey mustard sauce
1/4 C. Raw local honey
1/4 Dijon mustard
Dash of salt and pepper
Preheat your oven to 400.
Toss the apples and beets together with balsamic and a dash of salt, set aside. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together maple roasted chickpea ingredients (all except chickpeas). Pour chickpeas in an another shallow baking dish and pour maple mixture over, carefully stir to coat chickpeas.
Bake apples, beets and chickpeas for 20 minutes, until beets have softened and the liquid in the chickpeas is mostly gone.
While those are baking, prepare your millet, kale and honey mustard sauce.
Prepare millet according to package directions - I use a 1-1 grain-water ratio.
Remove the kale leaves fromt the stems and chop leaves roughly to 2-3" pieces. In a large skillet, heat 1 T. water and add garlic cloves, cook over medium heat until garlic is fragrant, then add kale. Cook over medium heat until kale is wilted.
In a small bowl, whisk together honey mustard ingredients and set aside.
When ready to serve, place in your bowl a serving of millet, cover with kale, add beets and apples, then chickpeas. Drizzle with honey mustard sauce and sprinkle with walnuts, if using. Voila!
