Pesto With Macadamia Nuts

by DeandrasCrafts in Cooking > Pasta

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Pesto With Macadamia Nuts

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This pesto is what I put on my steamed veggies.  The use of fresh basil, either from the store or your herb garden, is an amazing compliment to almost any vegetable.

The recipe is a variation of a recipe out of the South Beach Diet Cookbook (Broiled Tomato and Pesto).

This pesto has macadamia nuts, not your traditional pine nuts, and has a significant amount of lemon juice – both a twist from traditional pesto recipes I’ve found. 

You may also note that I don’t add any salt.  My husband has high blood pressure so we cut out salt where-ever we can!  This pesto is flavorful to me, so I hope you won’t miss it either!

Makes about a half-cup

Ingredients:
• Fresh Basil, one bunch or one cup chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• ¼-cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons macadamia nuts (12-15 pieces)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about one-half of a lemon) or more to taste

Remove the stems from the basil leaves.

Chop (or tear) the basil leaves into smaller pieces.

Using a food processor or blender, add the above ingredients to the chopped basil leaves and puree until a thick paste is formed.  Scrape the sides down during the pureeing process for a more even texture.

TIP: Because this recipe yields a thicker pesto, add about ¼-cup of EVOO while blending if you want to put this pesto on pasta, or to make it a little more runny.

I hope you have the time to try it with your next dish, whether it is on top of veggies or meat, with a little pasta, added to cream cheese for a delightful spread, or the way I eat it, on pretty much everything.