A fresh recipe for dairy free and nut free basil pesto.

Nutrition 101:

• Not only is this basil pesto dairy free but its nut free too making it an allergy friendly recipe great for jazzing up dishes.
• Basil possess anti-bacterial properties and is a great digestive aid and also has anti-inflammatory effects helping inflammatory conditions such as arthritis or inflammatory bowel disorders.
• Rich in anti-oxidants, basil also possesses properties that are anti-ageing and promote vitality.
• Olive oil is a great source of healthy fat especially good for healthy skin, hair and hormone health.

Dietary Notes:

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free and soy free.
To make this recipe  low FODMAP see recipe notes below.

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Pumpkin Seed Pesto (nut free)

A fresh recipe for dairy free and nut free basil pesto.

Keyword Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Low FODMAP, No Added Sugar, Nut Free, Preservative Free, Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 3 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1 fresh garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• sea salt

Instructions

• In a blender or stab mixer with attachment, blend basil with half the amount of olive oil until finely chopped. 
• Add lemon juice, pumpkin seeds, garlic, salt and remainder of oil. Blend until smooth. Add a little more oil or a splash of water if needed. Adjust seasoning to liking. 
• Use pesto immediately or store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. 

Notes

Serving Suggestions:

• Serve as a dip with raw vegetable sticks, Gluten Free, Grain Free Crackers or dollop over chicken, fish, meat or eggs.
• Add a tablespoon of pesto to cooked vegetables and toss through.

Make It Personal:

• Add 1 fresh, de-seeded chilli or 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes to ingredients before blending.

Recipe Tips:

• Blending basil with a little olive oil before adding the remaining ingredients help to create a smooth and well-blended pesto.
• Purchasing fresh herbs from farmer’s markets is usually much more affordable than store bought. You often can get much larger bunches that are extremely fresh and vibrant.
• To keep your basil fresh, wrap in kitchen paper towel and store in an airtight bag in the crisper section of your refrigerator or alternatively stand bunch of basil in a glass of water.
• After each use top pesto with extra olive oil to keep fresh. You can also freeze pesto in ice cube trays and pop out individual serves and defrost as needed or store frozen pesto cubes in an airtight freezer bag in freezer.

Sensitive to FODMAPs?

• Omit fresh garlic and use garlic infused olive oil for added garlic flavour.