Loving this dish is an understatement in my house. It’s like a celebration every single time because tasteful, real food can make people happier and bring more joy around the table. This traditional vegan basil pesto is so delicious that it almost feels like a tiny explosion in your mouth from the first bite. Served with your favorite pasta. The best combo!
Back from summer vacations and I cannot wait to kick-start a new season of delicious, healthy Mediterranean food and so much more! Not ready for the winter yet, we are “welcomed” by a Mediterranean hurricane named “Medicane” that brings several inches of rain, damaging wind gusts (60 MPH at times), and rough seas. Well, this is seriously bad weather for the Mediterranean standards. How the summer disappeared so fast? I am still tanned and I wear my jacket! So crazy!
The news about this mini hurricane was all over the media and I decided that I had to save my basil plants. So, I harvested earlier this year and that was a very wise decision because it is unlikely to have survived this weather. The house smelled fabulous for at least 2 days and I stored a lot of basil (see how below).
THE TRADITIONAL ITALIAN BASIL PESTO
Pesto sauce is really popular and you will find thousands of recipes around the web. However, no matter how I research, I cannot find the version I make in my home. It is a traditional Genovese vegan pesto recipe that a wonderful Italian friend was generous enough to share. In fact, she had invited me to her place and we made it together.
The fact that it is a pasta dish is a bonus, of course, but the king of that recipe is homemade basil pesto that, when it is made right, results in a mind-blowing pasta dish. Have I mentioned that it is a vegan basil pesto? Yep! Double bonus!
Moreover, making basil pesto is so fun that my sons are fighting over helping me along. It is ridiculously easy to make. They harvest the basil leaves from the pot, they wash them and dry as thoroughly as they can, combine the ingredients in a food processor, and ...boom… homemade basil pesto is done!! By a 4 and 9-year-old boys, for crying out loud!
THE SECRET INGREDIENT
What makes this recipe unique is an additional ingredient of the usual duo basil-pine nut which is boiled and mashed potato. This is big-time brilliant cooking, guys! You make more basil pesto sauce without sacrificing basil’s flavor and you end up with a richer, creamier, and starchier pesto sauce that remains chunky at the same time! Just the way we like it! Anyone with me here?
So, who said that we need Parmesan cheese to make pesto sauce creamy? Just a humble small potato and everyone will gobble your pesto up and asked for more.
Therefore, this recipe is totally vegan-friendly and extremely convenient when you invite for dinner people with different preferences, food restrictions, and eating philosophy.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE VEGAN BASIL PESTO
BASIL - Making basil pesto in a food processor doesn’t mean dump everything in it and start mixing. The bruising basil becomes bitter, its magnificent green color turns brown and the nuts can easily turn your pesto sauce into an oily concrete-like paste. Not good! The key to a perfect pesto sauce consistency is to roughly chop the basil and the nut with a knife before mixing everything in the food processor. Following this technique, the ingredients will need less time to be mechanically combined and small chunks of basil and nuts will give texture to the sauce.
POTATO - The addition of potato will amaze you. No doubt about it. It absorbs some of the pesto's oiliness and binds the sauce so smoothly. It is friendly-child too because the potato mellows the pesto out a bit and I am sure it will be appreciated by many kids who aren’t fond of the strong taste of basil that can be intense for their liking.
PINE NUTS - I know that pine nuts are outrageously expensive almost everywhere and less available than other nuts. Feel free to use other nuts like walnuts, pecan, almonds, sunflower seeds but I highly recommend pine nuts. Furthermore, toasting pine nuts is optional to my book but you may play your own game and go for it. It takes no more than 5 minutes, so why not?
VEGAN BASIL PESTO PASTA: THE RECIPE
My Italian friend was serious about making basil pesto: a food processor or blender is out of the question.
Grab a sharping knife and chop all the basil and pine nuts or a pestle and mortar because that is how you get the perfect basil pesto consistency and the full flavorful potential of basil leaves. Hmmm… Right!
With all due respect to the traditional way of making basil pesto, I have never (ever) found the time (or the patience) to chop or pound all those ingredients by hand. So make it easy on yourself, take out your food processor, and make a delicious basil pesto sauce in a few minutes (sorry, dear Enéa).
Furthermore, skip the garlic and the parmesan or pecorino cheese for this recipe. By all means, you may adjust the ingredients to your taste but this basil pesto variation includes neither garlic nor parmesan cheese.
MY BASIL PESTO IS READY! NOW, WHAT?
Serve it with the pasta of your choice and a cool white wine either Chardonnay or Greek Assyrtico or Malagouzia.
Basil pesto sauce is so versatile. It can be used in almost every dish and ingredient. Serve it with meat, fish, eggs, use it in a sandwich, salads, and combine it with your favorite grains.
HOW CAN I STORE IT?
Store pesto in a jar in the fridge. Drizzle olive oil over the top just to cover the surface. Seal closed to keep pesto green and fresh. If you cover the pesto with olive oil, it will keep for a few weeks in the fridge.
Lack of cheese, this recipe is perfect for freezing too up to 3 months before switching it to the fridge. A perfect and quick way to freeze basil pesto is to store it in a Ziploc bag, squeeze as much air out it before sealing, and then lay it flat on a baking sheet until frozen. You may easily break off as much as I'd like and defrost in a few minutes. Easy peasy!
If you make this recipe, you have to let me know! I absolutely love your feedback. This is a huge motivation for me and keeps 30daysofgreekfood’s kitchen alive. Bookmark this recipe and leave your rate and comment below, or take a photo with your vegan basil pesto and tag me on Instagram with #30daysofgreekfood and Facebook with @30daysofgreekfood.
Enjoy!!!
Recipe
VEGAN BASIL PESTO WITH A SECRET INGREDIENT
Ingredients
- 2 cups basil leaves
- ½ cup pine nuts
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 small potato, cubed
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a small pot, add the cubed potato into boiled and salted water. Boil for 10-12 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Use a fork to mash it.
- Meanwhile, use a knife to roughly chop basil leaves and pine nuts. Add them in a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds just to break down the leaves into smaller pieces. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- With the food processor running slowly, drizzle in the olive oil until a paste is formed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Pour the pesto into a bowl. Use a spoon to combine the mashed potato with the pesto. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if necessary.
Larae Songco says
Thanks for sharing..
TXMOM says
What type of potato and how big is “small”? Im thinking about all the types I see in a store and how a small russet is usually larger than a red potato. Etc and not sure what to buy. I am eager to try this cheese free version!
Sylia says
Hello there! Thank you for stopping by. You may use russet potato and choose one small potato from this variety. Keep in mind that a larger potato provides more starch to the pesto and consequently, it gives a milder basil's taste. So, find out the perfect balance according to your taste. For my family, I choose the smallest potato I can find because we love basil. Hope it helps.
Kisses,
Sylia