https://www.delishknowledge.com/vegan-pesto-pasta/Vegan Pesto Pasta Recipe
pesto abi? vegan
first of all. sigh… who tell you say vegan pesto dey hard? na lie. na just say you no go use cheese. simple.
but see me see trouble. the amount of times i don make this thing and mess up… mtchew.
one time… okay never mind. let me just tell you wetin you need.
basil. fresh one o. if you buy that one for pack wey don start to turn black? throway. no try save am. i try once. i blend am with plenty garlic, plenty lemon, i even add sugar small. you know wetin happen? e still taste like grass wey dog pee for top. so just buy fresh one.
now you go remove the leaves from stem. stem dey bitter. i no go lie to you, sometimes when i dey rush i no remove all. but na bad habit. one time i cook for church meeting. big meeting. everybody dey there. one woman finish her food, look me for eye, she say “chef, dis one get after taste.” i just nod. i know na stem. since that day, i dey remove.
garlic. three cloves. but before you chop am, crack am open. inside you go see small green line. remove am. that green thing na enemy. e dey make everything bitter. i cook for fifteen years before i learn this thing. fifteen years! i just dey think garlic sometimes dey behave like angry person. no o. na the green line.
so remove am.
pine nuts? if you get money buy am. but ehn… sunflower seeds dey do same work. just toast am first. dry pan. no oil. medium fire. shake am. when you begin smell am? that’s your sign. because next two seconds e go burn. i don burn so many seeds my kitchen still dey smell like smoke.
now put your basil, garlic, seeds, squeeze of lemon for food processor. not blender o. blender go turn am to smoothie. you no want smoothie. you want rough paste. so pulse. tap am release. Tap. Release while you dey pulse, pour olive oil slowly not all at once. slow like you dey pour last beer for bottle.
when e look like wet sand? stop. add salt. add nutritional yeast. about two big spoons. taste am wetin e taste like? if e taste like something dey miss, add more lemon. still miss? more salt. still miss? your basil no good. not your fault but e don happen.
now pasta. boil water. add salt plenty. water must taste like lagoon. no be like sachet water o. salty. then add your pasta. cook am one minute less than the packet talk. because you go finish am later. if you cook am finish now, e go soft like pap.
before you pour the water away, take cup. scoop out that starchy water. keep am side. then drain the pasta. do not rinse am. I SAID DO NOT RINSE AM rinsing dey remove starch. starch na glue. no glue, your pesto no go stick. you go chop oily noodle and the green go just dey bottom of plate like island. useless.
put the pasta back inside pot. fire off. pour all the pesto wey you make mix am. add small of that water wey you keep two spoons. mix again see as e come together? that na starch dey work. add more water until e shine but no too watery.
taste one piece if e dry, more water if e no salty, add salt if e too garlicky? no such thing.
now you fit eat.
but wait. you want make for two people? halve everything except garlic use one big clove or two small. because half clove na waste of time.
you want make for twenty people? multiply everything by six. but your food processor no go carry that much. make pesto for three times and toast your seeds for oven. 180 degrees, five minutes. because toasting for pot for that quantity? e go burn half, raw half. I don do am before. I nearly cry.
leftovers? keep for fridge. two days max. after two days, the basil go turn dark and garlic go start to shout. to reheat, use pan. add small water low fire stir nonstop. no use microwave. microwave go separate oil and your pasta go look like mad man cook am.
you fit freeze? yes. but only the pesto by itself. pour am inside ice cube tray. freeze am. each cube na one portion. when you want eat, defrost, mix with fresh pasta. that’s dinner for when you too tire to think.
one last thing… please, if anybody ask you wetin you cook, no tell them say “creamy vegan pesto”. na lie. e no dey creamy. e dey oily and rough and e dey smell like basil wey strong. that’s why e sweet.
so that’s all.
I need to rest now. my back dey hurt from standing today.
go cook. and if you burn your seeds again? no call me. i no want hear am.
bye.
