I'm reviving an old post today and this is probably one of my favourite recipes ever. This is much lighter than a traditional pesto and full of goodness – try it as a dip or on pasta. You could also add vegetable stock and blend it up to make a lovely soup. It's a please everyone dish; kids love it and even my 'traditional pesto obsessed' other half adores it
Ingredients:300g frozen peas
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon of pine kernels
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons of low fat cream cheese
2 good handfuls of basil
Salt and black pepper to taste
Microwave or boil the peas with the garlic until just cooked. Drain. Tip into a bowl with remaining ingredients and blend with a stick blender until you have a smooth paste. If it is a little too thick for your taste or purpose add a splash of water or stock.
Arthritis diet notes:
The basil in pesto is a great flavour if you are feeling under the weather - it is fresh and moreish. There is a little evidence out there suggesting that basil may have antiviral effects - I'm not sure there is enough to be conclusive, but basil is rich in antioxidants. This is lower fat than normal pesto but has health monosaturated fat from the pine nuts and olive oil. Don't skip out cooking the garlic with the peas - raw garlic, whilst incredibly healthy, is just too powerful - even for power pea pesto!
The basil in pesto is a great flavour if you are feeling under the weather - it is fresh and moreish. There is a little evidence out there suggesting that basil may have antiviral effects - I'm not sure there is enough to be conclusive, but basil is rich in antioxidants. This is lower fat than normal pesto but has health monosaturated fat from the pine nuts and olive oil. Don't skip out cooking the garlic with the peas - raw garlic, whilst incredibly healthy, is just too powerful - even for power pea pesto!
