parsley – belle + wild

I truly love using my new food processor. It is not one of those fancy shmancy, expensive types, but it works just as well. As a matter of fact, it is so easy-to-use and creates such vegan deliciousness that after just two weeks in my possession, I can truthfully say that I am addicted to it.

Yesterday, I used my food processor to make scrumptious parsley cashew pesto. Compared to my basil walnut pesto, this sauce has a much stronger parmesanesque taste because the recipe calls for nutritional yeast, which has a nutty, cheesy flavor and is an excellent source of B vitamins.

Fact is that this pesto tastes so unbelievably good that you too won’t be able to resist the urge to eat it.

Instructions

Ingredients

½ cup raw cashews
¼ cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
2 cups parsley
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. lemon juice
¼ cup nutritional yeast
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Cover the cashews with some water and let them sit for 1+ hours.
Drain the cashews using a colander and add them to a food processor together with the other ingredients.
Process the mixture until your preferred consistency has been reached.
Taste and add additional lemon juice or salt and pepper as desired.
Enjoy!

BWI: This delicious pesto or any vegan pesto for that matter can be added to numerous dishes. I enjoy this special sauce with baked potato wedges or roasted vegetables.

Suggested Kitchen Soundtrack

This is the ultimate feel-good pasta dish. It takes under 30 minutes to make and tastes incredible. It is laden with vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber. A 1-cup serving of cooked whole-wheat spaghetti meets roughly 23% of your daily fiber- and 16% of your daily protein requirement.

Vegan parsley cashew pesto not only tastes outlandishly good, but also provides many health benefits. Parsley is an excellent source of flavonoids, vitamin C, vitamin A and folic acid, which protect against heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Cashews are loaded with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and antioxidants. Whoot!

This is the absolute crowd-pleaser, so invite friends and family for an impromptu, hassle-free dinner party. Crank up the music and have fun!

Instructions

Pasta

Ingredients

Whole-wheat pasta
Sea salt

Instructions

Fill a large, deep pot with approximately 1 liter of water for every 100 grams of whole wheat pasta that you plan to cook.
Stir in 1 tbsp. of salt per each 500g of pasta to supercharge the cooked pasta’s flavor (optional).
Bring the water to a rolling boil.
Pour the whole wheat pasta into the boiling water and stir immediately in order to prevent the individual pieces from sticking together.
Keep the water at a low boil and continue to stir it every few minutes.
Whole wheat pasta will be cooked to “al dente” (chewy) in roughly 10 to 14 minutes. Cooking time varies depending on brand and stove performance. Check for doneness by tasting a tiny pasta sample. The pasta should be soft, but still have a little bite to it. Finito!

Vegan Parsley Cashew Pesto

Ingredients

½ cup raw cashews
¼ cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
2 cups parsley
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup nutritional yeast
2 tbsp. lemon juice
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Cover the cashews with some water and let them sit for 1+ hours.
Drain the cashews using a colander and add them to a food processor together with the other ingredients. (If you are in a hurry, steps 1 and 2 can be skipped)
Process the mixture until your preferred consistency has been reached.
Taste and add additional lemon juice and/or salt and pepper as desired.
Use immediately or store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Suggested Toppings:

Vegan Cashew Parmesan & Toasted Cashews