A Penchant for Pesto

Pesto is big in my family.  When I was little my parents spoiled me by always making it from scratch.  I remember my dad pureeing fresh pesto in his 1970’s-era Cuisinart, and my mom making a pesto from garlic stems (called scapes) from her garden.  Brad and I have a family of bunnies in our back yard and we have affectionately named ALL of them Pesto (seeing as how we can’t really tell them apart).

Although I love a good classic pesto, I’ve always been a girl with a soft spot for cream sauces.  Alfredo sauce, vodka sauce, creamy pesto… I love them all.  As I’ve tried to cut dairy out of my diet, I’ve ordered less of these dishes when I’m eating in traditional Italian restaurants.  But thanks to all my quarantine home cooking time, I’ve managed to make some vegan-friendly versions that curb all those cravings.  When I finally honed in on this particular recipe, Brad’s comment was “…but is it TOO creamy?”  I mean, can ANY pasta sauce be TOO creamy?  I think not.  That being said, I do like to garnish this dish with chopped or torn basil, some toasted pine nuts, fresh ground pepper and a little cheese (vegan for me or regular for Brad) to have a variety of textures.  I also tend to add salt – I’m a salt NUT, so I kept it low in the recipe with the understanding you can always add more but you can’t take it out!  Just keep tasting and adding little bits at a time, you’ll find the spot that’s just right for you.

Let’s Keep It Simple

I have seen recipes for vegan creamy pesto which instructed me to make classic pesto first and then combine it with a separate batch of cashew cream.  But being that I’ve been making three meals a day every day for the last five months (as I suspect you may have as well), let’s just say that I appreciate finding ways to reduce the time I spend in the kitchen.  Why make two things if I can just make one?  I want a creamy pesto that’s as easy as humanly possible.  And I think I’ve found it.  I also would prefer not to add an oily pesto to a rich cashew base – there’s plenty of healthy fat in the nuts.  I think this recipe is proof that added oils are totally unnecessary.

Time is of the Essence

So how fast can you make this?  Depending on your blender (see below), let’s say dinner is at 7PM.  I cover the cashews in filtered water at 5:50PM and leave them to soak.  I put the pasta in to cook around 6:45PM and while it’s cooking I toss all the sauce ingredients in the blender smoothie cup and puree for probably about 2 minutes.  I toast up some pine nuts for garnish (watch these carefully, they burn quickly!), tear or cut a few more basil leaves to sprinkle on top, and grate a little cheese for Brad.  I mix the pasta and sauce, put it in bowls, add garnishes and fresh ground salt and pepper and it’s ready to go!

Let’s Talk BLENDERS

One important element of this recipe that I cannot account for is the power of your blender.  I have read other recipes that said this same thing and thought to myself: “how the hell do I know if my blender is powerful or not?!  It’s a blender.  It blends.  My knowledge about it basically ends there.”  BUT upon some further research, apparently it’s the wattage that matters and mine clocks in at around 1100 watts.  Here is the one I use (and have used for many years now) in case you’re interested: it’s the Ninja Blender  (with the smoothie cups) and right now it’s around $108.  Of course I hear Vitamix blenders are the best, but the cheapest one I could find on Amazon was $290 and it has the same rating as the one I got for $100.

Fortunately, I have found that my Ninja Blender is perfect for making this sauce when I use the smoothie attachments.  Because I usually just cook for two people, I never seem to have much use for the bigger container.  The big one has multiple blades, but when I’m making smaller quantities I don’t find the lower blade to be low enough to blend as thoroughly as the cups do.  BUT I use the smoothie attachments almost every day with great success!

And as for power level, I’ve read other cashew cream recipes where they insist that you need to soak cashews for 24 hours.  I soak mine for one hour and the sauce turns out perfectly every time.  You may have to look up the wattage on your blender and adjust accordingly – the lower the wattage, the longer you should probably soak to be safe.  But the longer you soak the more water your cashews may be absorbing, and I would suggest that you reduce your added water to 1/2 cup and then add more from there to reach your desired consistency.

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