Cheat’s Pesto

Difficulty: Easy Makes enough to fill a 250g jar

As you all know, most pre-made pesto usually contains parmesan (ew) and I’m sorry, but until I have a lush overflow of fresh basil growing in my garden, I simply refuse to drop a bunch of cash on store-bought basil to fuel my pesto-habit (let’s not even talk about the price of pine nuts, OK?!)

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Enter my Cheat’s Pesto! It’s not only better because you made it, but it’s also heaps cheaper to make thanks to some simple ingredients like baby spinach and cashews. Plus it makes an incredible pasta sauce!

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Ingredients

• 2 large handfuls baby spinach
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/3 cup raw cashews
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Method

1. This seriously couldn’t be easier, friends. Dump the baby spinach, basil, garlic, nutritional yeast, cashews and salt in a blender.
2. Add a little of the olive oil and begin to pulse, using the blenders tamper to keep things moving.
3. Gradually add the rest of the olive oil while blending, using the tamper and stopping to scrape down the sides if required.
4. Stop when you’ve achieved your desired consistency (I like mine fairly smooth but still with a few nice bits in it.)
5. Transfer to a jar and keep in the fridge. Use within a few days.

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