Magic Pesto (Real Food, Paleo, Whole30, Nut Free, Vegan)

Pesto is magic. It is such a simple sauce and so versatile, it needs to be in your cooking arsenal for quick dinners, to add a punch of flavor to simply prepared foods and salads or to simply to increase your street cred.

Traditional pesto is always made with pine nuts. And since I rarely have pine nuts on hand, I used raw pumpkins seeds because I ALWAYS have raw pumpkin seeds around.

Since I am also omitting the standard cheese, I knew I had to dial the recipe up with plenty of flavorful ingredients, which for me, means garlic. Lots of garlic. I love strong tasting foods and this pesto is it!

I usually like to serve this pesto alongside some scrambled eggs, a grilled chicken or steak salad. My daughter prefer zero food alongside her pesto and a big spoon. Pesto is amazing when mixed with a bit of homemade mayo for a speedy dressing, or to tossed with some drained wild-caught tuna for a quick salad. Pesto is magic!

Magic Pesto

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled (less cloves for a milder tasting pesto - I use 4-5)
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 oz basil, stems removed, rinsed and dried (I used a salad spinner)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup avocado oil (plus more, as needed)
juice of 1 1/2 lemons

In a food processor fitted with a S-blade, grind the pumpkin seeds, garlic and salt together until coarsely chopped. Add the cleaned basil and pulse the machine a few times until the basil is chopped.

With the machine running, slowly pour in the olive and avocado oil and lemon juice. Run the machine until the ingredients are well combined.

Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more oil (or water), as needed, for a thinner sauce.

Use immediately or store in a covered container in the refrigerator with a thin layer of olive oil on top of the pesto (to prevent browning).

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