Creamy Roasted Garlic Pesto
Garlic is harvested and basil is growing in our warm weather, so it must be pesto time! This recipe is a rich creamy version of pesto. It makes a great dip, sauce or salad dressing. Something different than traditional pesto. We used roasted garlic along with cashews to make a smooth mellow dip. Kind of like guacamole in color and texture. It will even go well with chips and salsa!
Dips and sauces are a big part of our regular menu, so when presented with great garlic and basil we came up with a pesto flavor, but in a smooth creamy consistency. Roasting the garlic mellows out the flavor, but those wanting that tingling “bite” of raw garlic can add raw as well as roasted to get the best of both.
With a few simple ingredients all tossed into a blender, it is quick and easy to prepare.
This recipe will produce a thick dip consistency that will go well with crudité or as a topping for steamed vegetables. Put on your baked potato and you’ll never miss the sour cream and chives. Add a little more water when blending for a tasty creamy pesto salad dressing.
We used our Romanian Red garlic variety for this batch. These are a hardneck, porcelain style garlics. The porcelain style garlics usually have 4-6 large plump cloves per bulb. The photo below shows one bulb with the “wrapper” removed to show those large attractive cloves. These were medium sized bulbs at 2″ diameter (5 cm) that together weighed 111 grams (just under 1/4 pound).
The cloves have an attractive red skin covering those fat smooth cloves. Larger cloves means the cook spends less time peeling garlic!
Ingredients
- 2-3 garlic bulbs (full bulbs, about 1/4 pound of garlic)
- 4 cups fresh basil (we used 170 grams, or about 6 ounces)
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 3/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a larger lemon)
- Dash of salt (optional)
Variations:
- Replace some or all of the cashews with walnuts or almonds
- Toast the nuts lightly before making the pesto for that roasted flavor
- Add a clove of fresh garlic for a stronger fresh garlic taste (a little goes a long way!)
Process
Start by soaking the raw cashews in warm water for 20 to 30 minutes to help them blend into a smooth creamy texture.
Roast the garlic. With our warm summer weather, we roasted them in a dry pan. A small dash of olive oil would work as well. Peel the garlic cloves (we had 10 large cloves) and place in a pan on medium low heat and cover the pan. About 10 to 15 minutes will give nicely roasted garlic. Stir occasionally and adjust heat if needed to avoid burning. They will soften slightly and get nicely browned in spots.
Once the garlic is roasted and cashews are soaked, put all ingredients into a blender and process to make a smooth creamy texture. You can leave the lemon juice until the end to add to your desired taste.
Changing the cashews to other nuts will vary the flavor. Also toasting the nuts lightly can add more roasted goodness. We find cashews give the creamiest result while walnuts give a nice flavor. We have used a mixture of cashews and walnuts to get the best of both!
Another suggestion if you like that raw garlic zip, add a small clove of raw garlic. It doesn’t take much to really spice things up, so try a little first, blend it in and see if you want more.
This mixture will be a thick dip texture. To use as a thinner salad dressing, blend with more water. About 1/4 cup additional water will give a thick pourable salad dressing or sauce.
Serve as a sauce on steamed vegetables, like green beans, broccoli, cauliflower and summer squash. Use as a pasta sauce as is, or add fresh chopped tomatoes. Also great on baked potatoes. A wonderful dressing for a fresh summer salad with lettuce, arugula, escarole, cucumbers and more.
This recipe makes about 2 1/2 to 3 cups. It will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, though at our house it disappears quickly.
Enjoy!
Zanganeh Garden 