This avocado pesto is really quick and easy to make. I ate it with spaghetti for lunch, and then by the spoonful after my plate was empty. Pesto is essentially greens + nuts + oil. Some people add cheese, but you don’t need it, because dairy production is cruel and nothing tastes as good as animal rights feel (see what I did there?). Once you grasp this (greens + nuts + oil = pesto), you will find it increasingly easy to make fresh pesto when the occasion calls for it. I added avocado to this because I didn’t have that much oil to hand and I did have some rapidly ripening avocados. The avocado made it very creamy and the flavors mingled like your favourite party guests – and it also brightened up a grey Berlin winter day.
Shout out to a dear friend of mine Carol, who literally spoon fed me my first taste of avocado back in 2003!
RECIPE:
Equipment you will need:
- blender / food processor.
- knife and cutting board.
- spoon to scoop out the avocado.
- garlic crusher (or a fork in a pinch).
Ingredients:
Note on ingredient amounts: I didn’t actually measure when making this, so these measurements are an estimation. Please keep an eye on the consistency and taste throughout.
- 2 x large ripe avocados, flesh scooped out. (if you avocados are not ripe yet, put them next to some bananas and be patient.)
- 3 x garlic cloves, crushed.
- lemon juice, at least one lemon or 4 tbsp.
- 100g rucola / rocket / argula
- 50g basil (optional, just add more rucola if you don’t have basil to hand)
- 100g ground almonds
- 50g walnuts
- 2 tbsp cold pressed olive oil
- sea salt to taste
- dash of walnut oil (optional)
- finely sliced red hot chili pepper (optional)
- Place the avocado flesh in a blender, add all the other ingredients, except for the olive oil and pulse until every ingredient has become acquainted with each other but retains it’s own shape.
- Taste with a teaspoon and decide if you need to add more of anything. If it is too fluid in consistency add more ground almonds.
- Pour the olive oil in and pulse until the pesto is smooth enough.
- Serve it with spaghetti, on bread, as part of a salad, or simply eat it with a spoon. Should be served and eaten immediately as avocado discolours quickly. Shouldn’t be a problem though.
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Note: If you don’t have a blender, but do have a pestle and mortar, then you should already know what do do! To the left is some walnut parsley pesto I made by hand. It was tasty, however it definitely involved some physical labour.
