Almond-parsley pesto – amandel-peterselie pesto (GF-DF-SF-V)

As promised:

This wintery pesto is a delicious alternative for the classis one with basil. I don’t bother to buy basil in winter, because it’s not as tasty as in the summer. It needs sun and warmth, like me!!

You can see those warehouse-grown basil plants in the supermarket, also organic, but it’s not the same at all, they are a little ill-looking and you cannot keep them, they shrink or rot when you touch them or even look at them and just smell them they don’t smell as good as in summer, a bit feeble a bit sick.

The best thing you can do is to make small batches of the real stuff in the summer and freeze them, so you can have this sunny, summer flavor in winter whenever you like.

Or, make this one, it’s great too!!

Almond-parsley pesto

1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped

1 small tsp coarse sea salt

2 tbsp whole almonds, lightly roasted in a pan

1 cup tightly packed, washed and cut parsley, roughly chopped

60 ml first pressing olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

You’ll need a mortar and pestle for this or a small food processor or stick blender will work too. I love working with my hands, that gives me the pleasure of really hand-making it. In a machine you can add everything, put it on for some seconds and you’re done, ok!

For the hand method you’ll need some muscle.

Grind/pound the garlic with the sea salt till it forms a paste. Add the lightly roasted whole almonds and pound and pound till a rough mixture forms. This is a good work-out, so change hands once in while!

Add the parley bit by bit while you keep on grinding, pounding, etc.

Add the olive oil too bit by bit, while you keep up the work-out.

When you are happy with the result, with a little bite fro the almonds, grind some black pepper above the bowl and taste. It must taste and smell divine!

Peterselie-amandel pesto

1 teen knoflook, grofgehakt

1 kleine tl grof zeezout

2 el hele amandelen, lichtgeroosterd in een koekenpan

1 flinke kop, 2  handenvol peterselie, grofgehakt

60 ml eerste persing olijfolie

versgemalen zwarte peper

Als je de pesto in een keukenmachine wilt maken gooi je gewoon alle ingrediënten erin en maal enkele seconden tot de pesto klaar is.

In de vijzel:

Vijzel de knoflook samen met het zeezout tot een gladde pasta.

Voeg dan de licht geroosterde amandelen tot en vijzel ze, goed voor de spieren, wissel je hand af en toe af, tot een grofkorrelig geheel. Voeg dan beetje voor beetje de peterselie toe terwijl je blijft vijzelen en dan de olie, scheut voor scheut. Als de pesto naar je zin is, met een licht bite van de amandelen, proef en voeg naar smaak versgemalen zwarte peper toe.

Ruik en proef de hemelse smaak!

Heerlijk in de soep, de pasta in een saus of tortilla.