I Love Avocado Pesto!

Do you know what I love about avocados? Everything, especially when they’re main ingredient in this recipe.

The only thing better than eating an avocado myself is watching my one year old niece devour one. It’s impossible not to laugh as she holds gobs of green pulp quizzically up to her face, before squishing it unceremoniously into – and onto – her pinchable cheeks.

My cheeks are not nearly as pinchable, but this recipe makes me want to take a page from her book of eating habits, I would be perfectly happy shoveling this pesto into my face by the handful. In fact, the first time I whipped up this pesto recipe, it was a major feat of self-restraint to not hoover the contents of the food processor basin. Not kidding, I would have happily licked the spatula clean.

This recipe uses a whole avocado in place of the nuts in normal pesto recipes. The avocado gives the mixture a smooth, spreadable consistency, almost like frosting, which made it perfect for use on a grilled salmon sandwich (I’ll share this later).

Note to self: Use this pesto on BLT’s and Caprese sandwiches.

Less avocado, and more olive oil yielded a less viscous mixture – along the line of a more traditional pesto – which went really well with my hand-made roasted garlic and red pepper fettuccine (more on this when I share the pasta recipe).

 

You can choose to leave out the oregano and parsley to give the pesto a more traditional (basil only) flavor, but I found that the mellow sweetness of italian parsley, and the bittersweet zip of the fresh oregano served to playfully punctuate the smooth, complimentary avocado-basil combination.

Avocado Pesto Ingredients:

• Flesh of one avocado
• 2 cups fresh basil – rough chopped
• 2 garlic cloves – peeled
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley – rough chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano – rough chopped
• ¼ cup basil oil (regular olive oil will work as well)
• ¼ cup grated parmesan

Halve the avocado, remove the pit, and cut/squish the flesh from the skin. The fruit doesn’t have to be perfectly ripe, as it’s destined for a date with the blades of the CuisinArt.

If the flesh is less-ripe, you may want to rough-chop it to make it easier to incorporate.

Tear the basil leaves, and pack them relatively tight as you measure out two cups. Peel the garlic cloves. I usually smash them with a knife, and remove the paper that way, but you could use this sweet method as well:

 

Puree the ingredients together in a blender or food processor. You should aim for the herbs to be well-blended and combined into the mixture, while leaving the result relatively creamy and spreadable, like the texture of a thin hummus.

Spread the pesto on the desired surface with a spoon, or add it to your favorite pasta dish… that is if you can refrain from eating it all before you serve it!

Enjoy!