Life is about exploring pasta-bilities.

Pasta pesto was actually one of my favorite dishes when I was younger. I remember when my mom used to make it to me and my sister and we never hesitated in eating the whole plate with this green basil scented pasta when it was served. Today though, I make it slightly different from how my mom used to make it. I make it vegan and more cheap. How are these connected to each other? Let me explain!

Is vegan = cheaper pesto?

Vegan food is not always, but often, cheaper than food with animalistic products. In this case with the pesto I have excluded the parmesan cheese and pine nuts (two ingredients that are quite expensive per kg) and have changed to sunflower seeds instead. This contributes, not only to a vegan but also an a lot cheaper pesto Try this out because this is very very delicious! This pesto can be served just as other pestos are served; with pasta, on bread, in salads, on some protein sources etc.

Which kind of pasta should I pick?

There are endless of variations of pasta and most sorts suits with pesto. My mom used to make pasta pesto with fresh pasta, which most often was cheese or spinach filled tortellini or ordinary fettuccine. Fettuccine is still today one of my favorite kinds of pasta for pasta pesto but also spaghetti or pappardelle suits very well.

PS. you can also pick gluten free pasta or bean/ lentil pasta to get it gluten-free or protein rich.

For whom is the pasta pesto?

This dish is really great for families with kids where you want something simple with rather neutral - but not tasteless - flavors to make for the kids. It is also very suiting for people (most often students) who can have limitations on money and want to save in on for instance food. It’s also very suiting for the one who works very very much, and don’t have time to spend on cooking food for hours and prefer to have something simple to make. This is however also very good everyday food or lunch box food to bring with your to uni or work, as it is to serve a Friday evening when you have a date and want to serve something delicious to your partner or “soon to be”. Pasta pesto is with other words, something for everyone!

Pasta Pesto

ca 2-3 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 portions of optional pasta

1 dl sunflower seeds or pumpkin seed

approx 2 overfilled dl fresh basil

1 big pressed garlic clove

approx 0,5-1 dl olivolja

Sea salt

HOW TO MAKE:

• Boil your pasta after the instructions on your package.

• Mix your seeds in a blender (or wrong stick blender) to flour. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add a little bit of olive oil at a time to get your wished pesto texture.

• Taste your pesto and add more salt if needed.

• When your pasta is done, rinse it off with some cold water. Put back your dry pasta into the sauce pan and then mix the pasta with your pesto with a spoon.

• Serve!