Dairy-free Watercress Cashew Pesto

A trip to the Nelson Farmers’ Market this week filled my fridge with bunches of spring greens including 2 large bags of watercress. This vibrant pungent green grows beside slow moving waterways. It needs to be fresh and from a source that is away from any pollutants or agricultural run-off as it will absorb the pollutants.

Watercress Cashew Pesto

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch watercress
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1-2 garlic cloves chopped
• lemon juice to taste
• approx. 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Wash the watercress and parsley, removing any tough stalks and roughly chop. Place into a food processor along with the cashews, garlic and lemon juice and pulverize. With the machine going drizzle in olive oil to create a paste. The quantity of olive oil will depend on the consistency desired. Adjust seasoning to taste. Use as a spread on sandwiches, stir through pasta, spoon into soup.

Notes

TIP: The trick to keeping the pesto from going brown is to use plenty of olive oil while blending. The oil coats the cut leaves so to protect them from oxidation.

Pesto can be made all year round with a mixture of herbs and soft greens such as spinach, rocket and watercress. It is a great way to get raw greens into the diet during the cooler months. Pesto is a concentrated form of greens as the quantity of greens started with reduces with the processing, so a little goes a long way.

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