My Favorite Pesto
Today I want to share with you one of my favorite pesto recipes of all time. It is right out of a restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina. If you ever get a chance to travel to Asheville, you won’t be disappointed. Nestled in between rolling hills and mountains is downtown Asheville, and as you roam the streets, the food options are endless. Trust me – they do not disappoint.
One of my favorites is Tupelo Honey Cafe. I wanted to try it out just because of the name. Tupelo Honey reminds me of Van Morrison – one of my favorite artists, so I couldn’t resist. When we stayed there this was our “go to” restaurant every day.
The biscuits, pancakes, sandwiches, dips… it was all so good!
I wished I could take this restaurant home with me and plop it in my home town, but since that was not an option, I was lucky enough to purchase the cookbook
and get an autograph from our waiter – Avery.
I am going to share with you one of my favorite recipes from the book. It is a pesto made with cashews and no cheese. Pesto is typically made with pine nuts (expensive) and parmesan cheese (fattening), but this gem is neither of those.
This one is healthy,
here is what you will need…
1/2 cup basil
1/3 cup cashews (salted)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
***I always double up the recipe because it is really great to freeze or lasts for a week in the refrigerator.***
Here is the easy part...
combine all of the ingredients in a food processor
until mixed thoroughly.
Now the pesto is ready for a favorite pasta, pizza, or even one of my favorite sandwiches.
Bread, pesto, fresh greens, alfalfa sprouts, tomato slices, and a slice of cheese.
If you are interested in the Tupelo Honey Cafe cookbook you can find out more here.
I don’t know about you, but all of this yummy food is making me really hungry. I’m going to sit down and eat a little healthy goodness.
Let me know if you try this one out…
In the meantime…
Enjoy!
Every. Single. Moment.
Angie
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*Check out Tupelo Honey’s website if you would like to see more restaurant locations – it appears they have opened up several since my visit to Asheville. I can see why… the food is amazing!*
This looks so yummy! Tupelo Honey is one of our very favorite places too. There were rumors that we were getting one in Atlanta but it has yet to materialize. They do have one in Charlotte now (where my in-laws live) so we plan on trying that location next time we’re there. We always have to visit it whenever we’re in Asheville though!
I saw on their website, you are getting one! I am so, so jealous! Hopefully they will make it happen before I head to Atlanta, then we can go there and eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Although I don’t cook nearly as much as I like, I love cookbooks. Thanks for blogging about this one! It looks incredible and I think I should make a trip to Asheville soon to try out the “real deal!”
Oh my goodness, Dawn, you would love it. It is really a great town with so many great restaurants. We went when an art festival was taking place and it was really neat to be there during an event like that. The cookbook is great! I think they have two cookbooks now – mine was purchased in 2011 and it sits on my counter as I use it all of the time.