Good Raw Pesto Recipe Sauce

This raw pesto recipe is one of our favorites. Pesto is an Italian sauce traditionally made with crushed garlic, basil, pine nuts, olive oil and Parmesan cheese. There are many variations that have been developed over the years that use different ingredients such as almonds or walnuts instead of pine nuts, arugula or parsley to replace or add to the basil and a combination of cheeses.

The original preparation method is crushing with a mortar and wooden pestle and the name pesto comes from the Italian word pestare, which means to pound or crush.

We like to experiment in the kitchen and we found a pesto that we really like. This version uses pumpkin seeds instead of pine nuts and a white cheddar cheese to replace the Parmesan.

We have been altering our diet a bit lately to incorporate more raw foods and there is a variation added to make this a raw vegan dish and a link at the bottom of this article to the Raw Chef’s site where you can find some great recipes and information about a raw food diet.

Raw Pesto

Print Recipe

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword pesto

Servings 4

Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients

• 3 table spoons raw pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup cold pressed organic olive oil
• Shredded sharp white cheddar cheese 3/4 loosely packed cup
• ½ teaspoon sun dried sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 clove minced garlic

Instructions

• Blend all up in a blender, add extra oil if needed for a smooth consistency.

Serve over spaghetti squash or zucchini spirals.

Raw Vegan Version: Substitute macadamia nut cheese. There are some great recipes for raw vegan nut cheeses. We like to follow the raw chef Russell James and really enjoy his recipes and raw vegan courses.