Basil and Almond Pesto

This recipe is for anyone who has ever loved pesto. That intense, rich herby hit, with that rich, creamy mouth-feel..

It's hard not to love.

This recipe is all raw, all vegan, and 100% delicious.

It also doesn't involve any strange ingredients, meaning that anyone can make it!

Give it a go, and let me know what you think :)

Pixie x

• 100g Almonds (soaked for at least 3 hours, overnight would work well)
• 15g fresh garlic
• 1 large handful of basil - The more, the better! You can substitute different herbs if you like.
• Juice and zest of half a lemon (or more to taste)
• 1 Tbs Olive Oil
  
• Pinch of salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1/2 cup water (More or less, to desired consistency).
• (Optional - 2 TBS nutritional yeast. Not necessary, but will add an extra cheesiness)
  

First, you'll need to soak the almonds. The easiest way to do this is to place the almonds in a bowl/jug, cover with water, and just pop in the fridge overnight. If you're in a rush, you can speed this process up by covering them with boiling water, and soaking them for at least one hour (If you're into raw food, they won't be raw any more, but the recipe will still work! :) )

Once soaked, there is the optional step of taking the skins off of the almonds. I like to do this, as it means that you don't get any weird, brown flecks in your pesto! Simply pinch one of the almonds, and it should pop straight out of it's skin! I find it quite therapeutic (you could easily do it whilst watching something on TV!) If you don't want to do this, don't worry, the recipe will still work just fine! :)

Next step is simple - Add everything to a food processor (except the water, salt and pepper) and blitz! Use as much basil as you can - I used about 60-70g I think, but I forgot to weigh it! Anywhere between 30g and 150g would work :D

Then slowly drizzle in the water, until it reaches your desired consistency. If you want it to be a smooth paste, I'd recommended blitzing it in a blender, but this isn't necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste!

Serve with whatever you like! It should keep for about a week if kept in an airtight container in the fridge (it would be best to drizzle a little oil over the top if you want it to last a bit longer), but mine didn't last a day! (It was so good!)

Enjoy! <3 x