Delicious Vegan Kale Pesto Recipes

I love the idea of pesto, but I absolutely cannot approve just how much salt, or oil is poured onto the mixture of commercial products. Some of them have some other strange ingredients added and I wouldn't risk eating such product on a daily basis.

So I came up with an idea that is both healthy, delicious and well-balanced and takes no time to prepare! It is perfect for mixing it up with your pasta, salad or even add less olive oil and use it as a toast topping!

Here are my favorite two varieties:

Here's what you'll need for CASHEW based pesto:

♥ Organic Kale - 200g (I just get a large packet and use it all)

♥ Cashew Nuts that are raw, unsalted, non-roasted and preferably organic - 90-100g (or less if you like!)

♥ Organic Virgin Olive Oil - 2-3 table spoons. You can definitely play around with it and use little less if you want to make a spread for toast.

♥ Fresh Basil leaves - I use about a half from the whole living basil pot I buy from supermarket (wish I had a garden to grow my own basil! sigh... :) )

♥ Freshly squeezed juice from either a half or quarter of fresh lemon

♥ Sea Salt - half a table spoon

♥ Ground Black Pepper - to taste

After you washed all leaves and kale, put all ingredients in a chopper or a food processor, and chop until the desired smoothness. If little more moisture needed just add lemon juice or water! ;)

And Voilá!

Serve with wholemeal organic pasta (cooked al dente), wholemeal pitta bread or a salad. 

And for MACADAMIA based pesto everything is the same BUT FOR:

♥ Macadamia Nuts that are raw and unsalted - 90-100g or less if you like

♥ Freshly squeezed juice from half a Lime instead of Lemon

♥ I also like to add some fresh dill to the mixture - just a few grams will suffice

Perfect with organic German rye bread... ❤

A DELICIOUS DIP VERSION:

This one is actually a raw organic spinach based dip (which again can be perfectly made of kale, so it's entirely up to you!:)) with cashew nuts, lemon juice and sea salt. For this variation just add slightly less olive oil and voila!

Enjoy your food and be healthy!

With Love,

Natalia xx