Roasted Pumpkin Seed Pesto with Super Greens

a warm, nutty allergen-friendly summer favorite

Hands on time: 20 minutes // Time from start to finish: 20 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Grain Free, Vegetarian, Vegan)

Ingredient List: Pumpkin Seeds, Basil, Other Greens (Spinach, Arugula, Baby Kale, Chard, etc.), Garlic, Olive Oil, Lemon, Salt

Toss your pumpkin seeds (about 1/4 of a cup to start) into a warm-but-not-hot pan with olive oil. Sear for several minutes until the seeds are just starting to brown and you can smell the nuttiness.

Dump the seeds into a food processor and blitz until a fine almost-paste.

Add your basil with any large stems removed and two cloves of garlic (or more, if you’re me) and process down.

Add the zest of one lemon, the juice of 1/2 the lemon, and a pinch of salt and quickly blend.

Now you’re adjusting for taste and texture preference.

Add a few handfuls of the greens of your preference–spinach will be sweeter, arugula will add a bit of spice, etc.–and a drizzle of olive oil. Keep slowly adding lemon juice, olive oil, super greens, and salt until you have the flavor and texture you’re looking for.

Just be careful! It’s easy to add too much and be unable to taste the basil and the nuttiness of the roasted pumpkin seeds–which is why we’re all here, after all!