Basil, Coriander and Almond Pesto

I love pesto. You just whizz up herbs, nuts and oil (plus extra flavourings) and you’ve got a delicious, healthy, and impressive sauce that can be kept in the fridge for days and used in so many ways. It can be hard to find pesto without parmesan cheese and I find most shop-bought pesto far to salty anyway so I make my own and it’s honestly the easiest thing to make. I used to be hesitant about making pesto a few years ago because I worried about the fat content from all the oil and nuts, but now I know that good fats like olive oil and nuts are good for you and don’t make you fat, and I choose to eat what feels right and nourishing for my body rather than by how many calories/fat it has.

As I said, pesto is super versatile and here is a list of ideas of how to use it:

• Serve it with grilled/roasted/steamed fish or meat. E.g. roast salmon, pan-fried sea bream, slow roast lamb…
• Serve it with steamed/grilled/roasted vegetables; roast Mediterranean veggies like peppers and fennel work very well, as do all greens.
• Serve with avocado – match made it heaven!
• Serve with your morning eggs.
• Use as a salad dressing – thin it out with a little more olive oil and lemon juice if necessary.
• Stir through cooked quinoa/beans/lentil for an easy satisfying side.
• Use as a spread in nori wraps.

I love both basil and coriander and although they might sound like an odd combination, they really compliment each other. This is my favourite pesto to make as it goes with everything. I would say that the flavour is quite ‘neutral’, in that two herbs, basil being a very ‘Italian’ flavour and coriander being a very ‘Asian’ flavour, meld together and soften each other’s strong flavours creating something that you can serve with both italian/mediterranean food and asian/oriental food. I chose raw almonds because they are so good for you and being lower in fat and milder than other nuts such as pine nuts, keep the pesto light.

Basil, Coriander and Almond Pesto – Raw, Gluten, Grain and Dairy free + No added Salt.

• 50g bunch of basil leaves, washed
• 50g bunch of coriander leaves, washed
• 1/2 cup plain unroasted almonds
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Squeeze of lemon juice, to taste

Place the almonds and garlic in a strong blender or food processor, then add the basil and coriander leaves, having discarded the large stalks. Pour in the olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice (no more than half a lemon). Pop on the lid then blend till smooth. If you like a really smooth pesto with the nuts finely ground, blend on high until smooth, or if you prefer a slightly chunkier and crunchier pesto, pulse on a lower power until you have coarse paste. This makes about a medium bowlful and will keep for several days in the fridge.

With Love, Spice and Smile,

Thaïs