I posted a picture of this green pesto on my FaceBook page and asked people to guess what was in it. I got some really good guesses; i.e.: kale, mashed broccoli, mint, spinach and chard. They were all great guesses but they weren’t quite right. And so now that I’ve created quite the buzz around my green pesto, I won’t keep you hanging any longer, here is the recipe:
Ingredients: Yields approximately 1 cup:
Green Parsley Pesto:
- 1 bunch of parsley, washed and stems removed
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 1 sprig of rosemary (approx 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Green Cilantro Pesto:
- 1 bunch of cilantro, washed and stems removed
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 1 sprig of rosemary (approx 1 tbsp fresh rosemary)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Directions: Take all the ingredients and add to food processor. Then blend until desired consistency. You may have to stop a few times to scrape down the sides and continue blending. ** By the way, you can always add more olive oil if you need it–there is never such a thing as too much evoo!
I love making this pesto to accompany meat, chicken, fish or even to add on vegetables or salads. It’s fresh tasting and I love the crunch from the sunflower seeds. What’s great about these recipes is that if you don’t have these ingredients, you can improvise. For example, you can use pumpkin seeds, walnuts, cashews or whatever seed or nut you want if you don’t have any sunflower seeds. Same goes for the greens, you don’t have cilantro or pesto? No problem, you can use basil, carrot tops, beet greens, collard greens, etc. Use your imagination, be creative and enjoy.
