Walnut Pesto

I'm afraid fall is here in Boone. We won't be seeing the mercury rise above 68F (or the sun rise for that matter) all this week. This also means the beginning of the end of my summer of herb growing. I cut a mixing bowl full of basil the other day and had to come up with something to do with it, so that's where this pesto came from.

Not so fast. I'm not letting you get away without a quick nutrition lesson today.

I'm a big fan of nuts as you should be too for their awesome protein, fat, and mineral content, but walnuts especially. Walnuts have the highest content of omega-3 fatty acid of any of the nuts in the form of alpha linolenic acid (the plant form of omega 3's). This plant form is absorbed in much smaller quantities compared to the animal forms (EPA and DHA), but if you find it difficult to incorporate the fatty fishes into your diet twice a week, then a handful of walnuts a day will certainly help your case.



Walnut Pesto

2 C basil (fresh, whole, packed)
1/2 C walnuts
1/4 C olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until a grainy consistency is achieved.

Look out for next post on how I actually used this awesome spread...