dairy-free pesto that tastes like real pesto

[baratron]

Damnit. I know I've written a rant here about vegan so-called pesto, but still can't find it after 15 minutes of searching. (This is why I need an index to my journal). So let me just declare my profound dislike of so-called vegan "pesto" in which the only ingredient in common with real pesto is basil. Pesto should contain basil, pine nuts, olive oil & garlic, and optionally cheese. "Pesto" made from basil, cashew nuts and sunflower oil is Not Good, and "pesto" which contains apple juice is even worse.

Anyway, my order from veganstore.co.uk turned up today. As a result, my dinner tonight was pasta with dairy-free pesto that tastes like pesto and vegan fudge. Between this, and discovering on Saturday that the vegetarian restaurant in Kingston sells vegan chocolate fudge cake that tastes almost exactly like normal chocolate fudge cake, I feel somewhat less like I've had to give up eating "real" food. The more good dairy-free alternatives I find, the better I feel about my dietary restrictions - and hence, the better I feel about myself.

Comments

[hiddenpaw.livejournal.com]

Am I being particualy dumb or do none of the ingredients of normal pesto actualy break the rules of veganisum anyway? (cheese being optional and therefor ignored)

[redbird]

No, you're not being stupid, they are. Not being vegan, I buy pesto with cheese, and you might need to juggle the proportions of basil, pine nuts, and olive oil to do without it--but those other substitutions are just annoying penny-pinching.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nicolai_/]

Pesto should contain basil, pine nuts, olive oil & garlic, and optionally cheese.

When faced with a need for vegan pesto (cooking for a vegan) I resorted to DIY since I couldn't find any in the local Tesco.

Fresh basil
Some minced garlic (blender won't make it fine enough for you)
Pine nuts
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper.

Pile stuff into blender, set to blender to maximum enthusiasm, remove smooth green pesto-like paste. IMHO the cheese is not really optional for actual pesto, but this is a fine sort of sauce all on its own.

The vegan version does come out a bit oily and not quite granular enough to be normal pesto, for some purposes.

Nicolai

[baratron.livejournal.com]

I tried to make my own, but what came out was bright green and tasted far too much of chlorophyll. I've never eaten grass, but I suspect that's what grass tastes like. After a day sitting on the worktop, it had darkened down to the colour that pesto normally is, but we didn't get round to eating it then. By the following day, it had started to decompose (smelled of ethene).

I think it's just easier to buy it online. It's about the same price, and much less hassle.