Basil Pesto

Ok, so I’m not going to tweek this one much. It's a pretty classic dish. There are so few ingredients, but they're all needed to make this rich, delicious, and versatile sauce.

Basil Pesto

3 cups fresh basil leaves

4T nutritional yeast

1-3 raw garlic clove (depending on how “garlicy” you like it)

juice of 1/2 lemon

olive oil (this is where you use the good, yummy stuff)

In a food processor, blend clean, spun-dry basil leaves, nutritional yeast, garlic, and lemon juice. When blended to a chunky consistency, add olive oil and continue to process until it becomes spread-like. The amount of oil depends on the desired consistency. I've never really measured it, but I imagine it's about 1/2 to 1 cup.

Easy and super versatile, basil pesto is delicious on pasta, a spread on thinly sliced toast, or mixed in with warm, boiled red potatoes. If you don’t care for the basil flavor, try arugala, cilantro, parsley, or a mixture of these greens.

I put some leftovers in an ice cube tray to freeze. Usually, it all gets eaten up, but I made so much this time. Once completely frozen, pop out of tray and store in a zip-top bag. You can also put it in the fridge and poor a layer of olive oil over the top to preserve the color. It tends to turn a darker green after a while when exposed to the air.