Sunflower Seed Pesto
Sunflower seeds are my favorite alternative to pine nuts in pesto, and make homemade pesto much more budget-friendly. This recipe will yield ½ cup of pesto.
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 4 c basil
- 2 tbsp raw and unsalted sunflower seeds
- 1 garlic clove peeled
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ c grated parmesan cheese
- ½ c extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and pulse for several seconds. With the food processor running, slowly stream in olive oil and blend into a thick paste, adding more olive oil if needed.
- If not using right away, transfer pesto to an airtight container and smooth down the top. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the pesto, forming a protective layer. Transfer to fridge to store. Before using, bring to room temperature and mix oil layer into pesto
- To freeze: spray mini-muffin tin with olive oil. Fill each muffin well with pesto. Transfer to freezer. Once frozen, remove tray from freezer and scoop out pesto cubes. Transfer cubes to plastic freezer bag and put back in freezer.