Pesto Three Ways

I rarely eat pesto, so…I delved into a basil pesto project to see what I was missing.

Personal Findings - I don’t really like pesto on pasta. I prefer pesto as a spread on sandwiches or thinned down as a sauce on vegetables. I also don’t like oily pesto. All the recipes I used/adapted called for minimal oil.

Classic Pesto – I used this recipe, but halved the amount of oil. Classic!

Vegan Tofu Pesto - I used the pesto part of this recipe and added sun-dried tomatoes. I liked the creaminess that the silken tofu added. Unexpectedly, the sun-dried tomatoes did not add much flavor. Red + Green = Brown ! Blech.

VWAV Hybrid Pesto – I combined the miso and cilantro from this recipe (There’s a misprint in the ingredient list. Mint should be cilantro) with the nutritional yeast and extra garlic from this recipe. The miso provides the salt and depth of flavor that Parmesan cheese would provide. Nutritional yeast also provides depth of flavor. In a re-do, I would omit the cilantro, since it’s flavor is negligible, and tone down the garlic.

Winner – None! They all tasted fine. Get the garlic, salt, and oil levels to your liking. The two vegan pestos did not lack anything that Parmesan cheese would provide. The addition of cilantro, sun-dried tomatoes, or other ingredients cannot compete with the strong flavor of basil. If you want sun-dried tomatoes, for instance, make a pesto heavier on tomatoes than basil.