Oregano Pesto (Vegan) オレガノジェノベーゼ

Remember the fresh oregano I got from our friend?

After making the bread, I still had a lot left, and I was feeling a bit of pressure.

My friend suggested drying it, but I really wanted to use it as fresh because how often do you get to enjoy this much fresh oregano?!

So I was thinking what I would do with other types of herb if I have a lot of it, and I came up with the idea of oregano pesto!

I wasn’t too sure of how it would turn out.

Well, it turned out awesome!!

I wanted to keep it vegan, so there is no cheese in this pesto: fresh oregano, garlic, cashew nuts, lemon juice, olive oil, sugar, salt, and pepper.

I accidentally (I wasn’t paying attention as usual) added a little more nuts than I was initially planning, and it kept my pesto from showing the bright green color.

But it tastes absolutely delicious!

I think the extra nuts probably contributed to the well balanced flavors after all (Or I’m just trying to justify my error?! (lol)).

It was served with fusilli (Terry is converting me to short pasta!) and grape tomatoes.

Of course, garnish the whole dish with beautiful fresh oregano that I kept just for this shot!

Oregano Pesto (vegan)

4 cups fresh oregano leaves
8~10 cloves garlic, cooked for a few minutes
1 cup or so cashew nuts, soaked in hot water
lemon juice, from 1~2 lemons
sugar
salt and pepper
olive oil
water where garlic was cooked

1. Combine all the ingredients. Puree in a food processor. Add olive oil and water little by little to achieve the preferred texture and flavor.