Happy World Health Day! What are you doing to celebrate and nurture your health today? This morning, I have two things for you:
1.) a funny buzzfeed article about our national kale obsession
2.) a Meatless Monday recipe
As someone who can’t eat pine nuts but knows what they’re missing, I’ve been longing for a pesto recipe I can enjoy without struggling to breathe. I tried it with pumpkin seeds, and I even tried it with just basil, olive oil, and parm, but neither of those worked out for me.
In the spirit of culinary spring cleaning, I’ve been trying to make things that incorporate those ingredients that have been taking up room in my cabinets and freezer so I can make space. Make space for what, I’m not sure, but as a New Yorker, I’m obsessed with the concept of roominess. This recipe came together in a moment of hunger-induced madness, when I spotted these basil cubes in my freezer and then looked at the little bag of Whole Foods bulk-bin bulgur I had thrown on the kitchen counter. This bulgur has been sitting there since…November? December? However long it’s been since I had lunch at Congee Village with my old volunteer supervisors and I went to Whole Foods after, that’s how long it’s been.
Since I’ve been all about hemp seeds in recent months, that next ingredient was a no-brainer. Lots of things I eat lately are based off of whether I can add hemp seeds, similar to how I base a lot of choices on how well it might pair with tahini and/or goat cheese. Or avocado. Fat phobia is not something I struggle with, clearly.
Anyway. Feel free to sub fresh basil or omit the frozen spinach if you do not have a bag languishing in the freezer.
Ingredients:
- 10 basil cubes, thawed
- 1 c frozen spinach, thawed
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic gold nuggets (optional)
- salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
- Process ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Makes 2-3 servings
The first time I ate this, I tossed it with some cooked bulgur, leftover roasted veggies, and (thawed) frozen peas. I added goat cheese because that sounded good to me, but parmesan is also fantastic. If you want to keep it vegan, you can use nutritional yeast instead of cheese.
This also happens to be delicious with eggs. And tahini. And probably avocado. It’s totally okay if you think I’m weird.
What’s your favorite way to eat pesto?