Medicinal Basil Pesto

Pesto can be combined with other medicinal herbs of your choosing. Depending on the herbs, you can have powerful punch of nutrients and healing properties in a delicious and nutritious pesto.

"Let food be thy medicine" Hippocrates

1/2-1C Olive oil

1-3 cloves of garlic

1C fresh cilantro leaves and stems

1/2C fresh basil leaves

1/2C fresh dandelion leaves

1/2-1C pine nuts or walnuts

1/4C freshly grated parmesan, pecorino , or other hard cheese

To Make:

Combine olive oil, garlic and fresh greens in a blender or food processor.

Pulse until smooth.

Add the nuts and cheese and pulse again until the mixture reaches the desired consistency.

To Use:

Pesto can be enjoyed with many things - crackers, pasta, soup or even on its own.

It is easy to make and is an efficient way to get lots of nutrient dense medicinal plants into your diet.

Make and freeze enough medicinal and culinary pesto blends so that you will have them to use during the winter months. This is because Basil is a summer herb and will not be available during winter.

Variations:

You can use this basic recipe to make any number of medicinal herb pestos. The proportions will vary, depending on personal taste and the desired effect.

You may like to try 1C of wild herb with 1C culinary herbs. Taste as you go - some herbs maybe surprisingly strong but taste amazing!

You could try some of the following herbs:

Wild herbs - Nettle, Chickweed, Plantain

Culinary herbs - Mint, Sage, Thyme, Marjoram and Oregano

Reference

Gladstar, R. (2012) Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs - A Beginner's Guide, Storey Publishing; North Adams, MA.