Red Bird Cabin

I came up with this Spring-themed variation of Pesto last night… and it was delicious.  Instead of the usual pine nuts, I subbed in cashews.  Then I added in grated lemon zest and a splash of lemon juice. (FYI, you could really use any type of nut to make pesto.) I chose cashews for this one because they’re subtle… allowing you to taste the lemon.

Spring Pesto

Here’s the basic recipe:

• 1 large bunch of basil
• 1.5 cups of cashews
• a couple glugs of olive oil & water
• grated zest of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove
• salt & pepper to taste

Just toss all the ingredients into your food processor or blender and blend for about 2 minutes. If it’s too thick, add more olive oil and water in equal parts until it reaches a pea-soup consistency. (Mine was a little too thick - next time I’ll thin it more.) Drizzle it over chicken, tofu, salmon or pasta!