Are you a pesto-file? Always looking at different ways to make pesto? Here is one you quite possibly have not tried yet, and it is very versatile. A couple weeks ago, I taught a workshop on edible common garden flowers at Fig Earth Supply, the edible nursery in my neighborhood. And, it got me thinking of all the delightful, delicious ways we can get the most nutritional bang from our outdoor spaces. Enter nasturtium pesto!
This pesto’s uses are pretty
much endless! Top it on some eggs, spread it on vine ripened tomatoes, dollop
on fresh caught trout, spread it on crostini, mix it into Alfredo sauce, heck
I’ll bet it would even make good ice cream if done right! My favorite, and
the most nutrient dense way to enjoy it is as a simple, stand alone dip for
colorful, raw vegetables, like peppers, asparagus, cucumber, and celery. And
what’s the best part about this pesto? It is, in fact, made of a leaf
that would otherwise become byproduct in your garden- the edible leaves of
the nasturtium flower. The main
nutritional components found in nasturtium are glucosinolates,
mustard oil, flavonoids, carotenoids and vitamin C. There are a few recipes
for this pesto out there, but this one is 100% vegan and raw, for added
nutritional value and plant-powered nuance. So, if you feel like having some
pesto, but don’t have any basil around, just run out to your back yard and
grab some nasturtiums, and go to town!
(scroll down for interactive, printable recipe card, grocery list and more!)
vegan cashew nasturtium pesto
2 cups of nasturtium leaves (about 30 leaves of varying sizes) About 20 nasturtium flowers NOTE: Try to pick the stems with the leaves, and reserve them as an optional ingredient 1/2 cup raw cashews 4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly sliced 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup nutritional yeast 1/2 tsp. sea salt 1/4 tsp. fresh cracked pepper 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Wash and pat dry the nasturtium leaves. Check the flowers for bugs and dust and wipe impurities from the blossoms. Place the leaves, cashews, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and lemon juice in a food processor and pulse until it breaks down and starts to blend together. Add the olive oil gradually and pulse the food processor to incorporate. Process the pesto until it reaches the consistency of pesto.
This pesto will be a little more pasty than you might be used to.
Add the tablespoon of water to break it down a bit, and pulse until it is
smooth. At this point, if you want it a little more peppery, you can add some
of the stems. Add the a handful at a time and see how you like the taste and
texture. Finally, add the nasturtium flowers, and just pulse gently until the
blossoms are broken up and appear as colorful speckles in the pesto, without
becoming completely pulverized into the pesto. Enjoy immediately or
refrigerate for later.
vegan cashew nasturtium pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups nasturtium leaves About 20 nasturtium flowers NOTE: Try to pick the stems with the leaves and reserve them as an optional ingredient, about 30 leaves of varying sizes
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and roughly sliced
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
- 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry the nasturtium leaves. Check the flowers for bugs and dust and wipe impurities from the blossoms.
- Place the leaves, cashews, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and lemon juice in a food processor and pulse until it breaks down and starts to blend together.
- Add the olive oil gradually and pulse the food processor to incorporate.
- Process the pesto until it reaches the consistency of pesto. This pesto will be a little more pasty than you might be used to.
- Add the tablespoon of water to break it down a bit, and pulse until it is smooth.
- At this point, if you want it a little more peppery, you can add some of the stems. Add the a handful at a time and see how you like the taste and texture.
- Finally, add the nasturtium flowers, and just pulse gently until the blossoms are broken up and appear as colorful speckles in the pesto, without becoming completely pulverized into the pesto. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for later.
5 thoughts on “Vegan Cashew Nasturtium Pesto”