Finally, I came across a Pesto that inspired me to create a version without oil! It always bothered me that you need as much basil as you needed oil to get your pesto going, however, when I came across avocado pesto, I knew that could work instead of the oil! Avocado has a high-fat content and so acts great as butter or oil, however, it has 0 cholesterol and so it is not harmful! (It also has way fewer fats than oil, it’s a fruit after all not an oil) It is very high in fiber and a decent source of Vitamin C and B6. We will be using a good amount of Basil too here which will make our recipe rich in Vitamins C and B6, have an amazing amount of Vitamin A, and will also give us calcium, iron, and magnesium. Of course, all while making a delicious sauce! I had a feeling this would be a mix between guacamole and pesto, but to be honest the avocado is totally tasteless in this sauce.
Ingredients
- Basil
- Avocado
- Garlic
- Lemon
- Peppered cheeslet
- Pine nuts
Method
This recipe is rather simple, place everything in a blender and blend! I started with the avocado and the lemon juice, add a little water if needed for the blender to puree the avocado (be careful with the lemon juice, it can easily take over so go easy unless you love your pesto lemony). Add in the garlic and give another good blend. Now put in the basil and peppered cheeslet (feta cheese could also be good here, or the traditional parmigiana and some black peppers). You can add the pine nuts here or drop them in at the very end to leave a little crunch to your pesto. Add water until you see the consistency you like. Remember it’s easier to add water than try and go back, so better a little less than a little more. Your pesto is ready for use! Some say it’s better fresh, I left mine to sit a couple of days in my fridge and liked it better after, the tastes infused more.
Variations
Well, of course, you can use this with pasta, I found this idea when I was looking for a Zucchini Noodles recipe, so that is another way you could use this. Basically, you can use it as your regular pesto! However, here I used it as a sauce on some grilled chicken with sweet potatoes baked fries. The chicken was simply grilled with some vinegar, I added some milk when it was almost done as usual for it to come tender and juicy. Let the milk dry and then after letting the chicken take some nice golden color (pressing it to the pan or skillet since we do not have sizzling oil to crisp it for us), add the pesto to heat up with the chicken. As for the sweet potato, simply cut it like fries, place it in an oven tray, with a brush add a little oil (three to four drops should be more than enough for the whole potato), and bake. Hope you try some recipe with this healthy pesto, if you do, we would love to hear your thoughts about it!