Vegan Pesto Pasta

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Ever since the day I took my first bite, pesto has been one of my all-time favorite foods. First off, it’s a basil-based sauce so (obviously) automatically delicious. Also, it’s not terribly hard to make! Most of the actual manual work is basil leaf ripping then after that it’s practically all blending.

Ingredients:

1 box farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
1 large bunch of basil (enough to fill approximately 3 cups)
3 – 4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup oil
1&1/2 tbsp Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1/2 tsp black pepper (I usually add even more on top right before eating also)
A pinch of salt

Directions:

Begin by starting to boil a pot of water for the pasta. While the water is heating up, get out your ingredients, measuring cups/spoons and food processor. My Ninja works perfectly for this.

Start tearing your basil leaves right at the stem, only throwing the leaf part into the food processor. Once you’ve done that to all of your basil leaves and packed them down in the food processor your water should be boiling, if it wasn’t already. Pour the pasta into the pot and set a cooking timer. Next start peeling your garlic, throwing 3 – 4 cloves (depending on how much you enjoy that delicious, garlicky taste – or if you have a big date coming up after dinner) in.

Now measure out your black pepper, add a pinch of salt and pour in the oil. Then blend thoroughly!

Note: If after you’ve blended you find your concoction needs a little more loosening up add in a little bit of water and re-blend.*

Lastly, as soon as you’re done straining out any excess water, pour the pesto mixture over a warm bed of pasta and eat right away, pasta is always best the first time around!

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