Wednesday 10 October 2012

Vegan MoFo: Pea & Mint Pesto


This is  chunky pesto, but it is much lighter than its pine nut cousins, and perfect for Spring. Stir it in risotto, or use it as a dip. Measurements are approximate largely because sometimes lemons are a bit more lemony than others, just like mint is a bit more minty...you know what I mean? The mint I use is a runaway that lurks along our back fence popping up wherever it pleases, and since it's such an old variety it's very strong. I use less oil, and smooth it all out with water to make it lighter. for the same reason I use pumpkin and sunflower seeds because pine nuts can be quite heavy and grainy, and better suited to heartier dishes.

Ingredients
1 cup fresh peas
1 cup baby spinach
1 handful mint leaves
1/3 cup sunflower and pumpkin seed mix, toasted
2 tablespoons garlic infused olive oil
Juice 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/3 cup water

Method
Blitz all ingredients in a food processor until smooth

6 comments:

  1. This sounds fab, I am a big fan of peas!

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  2. This sounds great. I love the addition of mint and peas.

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  3. This sounds soooo good! I tried a pea dip recipe this summer, and it ended up too vinegar-y. This, however, sounds hearty but refreshing. Great color, too!

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  4. Hi! I'm working on a round-up of pesto recipes for The Huffington Post Taste and I came across your recipe. I'd love to include it in my piece. Please let me know if you're interested!

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