Easy, No-Oil, Radish Leaf Pesto

I was inspired to create this recipe by a fellow CSA member. Jane posted that she made pesto from radish leaves. I loved the idea, but wanted a no cheese version.

So, I tweaked it, removing the cheese and the oil from the original recipe and adding a little date syrup for a hint of sweetness.

Perfect!

This recipe: 

  • is perfect for pasta 
  • provides a robust/sweet/tart flavor combination
  • has a beautiful green hue 
  • freezes well 
  • uses just six ingredients!
  • got “2 thumbs up” from all four of my sons!

Ingredients: 

  • 4 cups fresh, de-stemmed, washed radish leaves. (3 bunches) 
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice 
  • 1 Tbsp date syrup 
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup walnuts 
  • 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast 

Directions: 

Place radish leaves in food processor. I needed to do this recipe in two batches to get it all in the processor. Add lemon juice, date syrup, garlic walnuts, and nutritional yeast. Process until the ingredients are all in small pieces. The final mixture should be the perfect consistency to coat pasta or rice. 

Instructions for Freezing: 

I love the convenience of freezing recipe-sized portions of this sauce and then thawing a cube and adding it to rice or pasta for a quick, weeknight supper.

Place 1/2 cup of mixture into a clean, empty, small yogurt container. There will be enough for 4-5 yogurt containers. Place on a flat tray and put into freezer. Freeze until firm. Pop out the frozen cubes and store in a labelled, gallon sized freezer bag. One cube is approximately enough pesto for 8 ounces of cooked pasta.

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