How do you make dairy free pesto? Well, it’s rather cunning, and I thought of it all myself. Ready? You leave out the parmesan. Yep, I know, mind-blowing isn’t it? But then we tweak a little to help make up for the missing cheese (ah hah!) And of course, home made pesto is gluten free.
Dairy free pesto recipe
Handful pinenuts
1/2 – 1 clove of garlic, depending on how stinky you mind being
Salt & fresh ground black pepper
3 decent handfuls of fresh basil, chopped
Olive oil
Drop or two of lemon juice to taste
Here’s the dairy-replacement bit – brown half of your pinenuts on a dry pan – this adds a deeper flavour that you lose with the cheese.
Stick it all in a blender and blitz it up. Or, if you prefer a more rustic pesto, grind the garlic with the leaves and salt in a pestle and mortar, remove, then mash the pinenuts down. Mix with the olive oil.
Adjust the flavour of your dairy-free pesto by adding a drop or two at a time of lemon juice.
Et voila! Gluten free, dairy free pesto for spreading on sarnies, stirring into pasta, or rubbing on yourself, if that’s what takes your fancy.
🙂