Who doesn’t need a little more spice in their life? We sure do, and in this case we want a little more herb in ours! 🙂
We’re continuing our Culinary Corner blog series on spices and fresh herbs to help you to easily, deliciously and healthfully flavor your food—and today we want to share some basic information about one of our favorites herb besties – basil!
Basil is a close relative to mint. You’ve probably tried it in tomato sauce and tomato based dishes, but it pairs really well with nearly every type of meat and especially seafood. Plus, it’s rich in phytonutrients to help your body fend off nearly every chronic disease and minimize age-related decline!
To get you started with a simple basil recipe – we want to share our Basil Pesto (it ups the ante even more by replacing traditional pine nuts with walnuts (so it’s got more omega 3’s than your typical pesto sauce!)!
This Basil Pesto is incredible—you can spread it on your bread instead of butter, on sandwiches rather than mayo, toss with pasta, spread on pizza. This is also great tossed with steamed green beans and the juice from a lemon or mixed with champagne vinegar and tossed on a salad. Enjoy!
Basil Pesto
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup walnuts, crushed
1 garlic cloves
1/3 cup vegetable stock
1/8 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Place basil, walnuts, vegetable stock and garlic in food processor bowl and puree to desired thickness and until all ingredients are mixed evenly.
2. Add oil, Parmesan cheese and salt. Process until mixture is well blended.
3. To make this into a meal, toss with pasta or use a sandwich spread or dip bagel chips for a dip as well!! Enjoy!!
Serves 4, 2 Tablespoon serving
Nutrition Facts per serving: 142 calories, 14 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 175 mg sodium, 2 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 0 g sugar, 4 g protein
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup walnuts, crushed
- 1 garlic cloves
- ⅓ cup vegetable stock
- ⅛ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Place basil, walnuts, vegetable stock and garlic in food processor bowl and puree to desired thickness and until all ingredients are mixed evenly.
- Add oil, Parmesan cheese and salt. Process until mixture is well blended.
- To make this into a meal, toss with pasta or use a sandwich spread or dip bagel chips for a dip as well!! Enjoy!!
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