Garden-fresh Radish Pesto

 

My radishes are taking over!

I love them so very much, but they really aren't the most useful of cooking ingredients and one can only eat so many raw radishes.

I have been keeping constant watch for unique, radish-based dishes,  so when I stopped by Pesto Outside the Box's booth at the PSU Farmer's Market and saw that they had a concocted a vegan radish pesto, I knew I had to try it out for myself.

Aside from the obvious (basil, olive oil and radishes) I have no idea what POB puts in their radish pesto since I didn't think to look at the ingredient list, so my recipe is 100% my own. I wanted to keep it as light and summery as possible and utilize as many radishes as I could without overwhelming the basil/pesto flavor. The result was this lemony, slightly spicy, fresh and colorful pesto that looks as beautiful as it tastes.

Radish Pesto

• 3/4 cup chopped radishes
• 2 cups chiffonaded basil
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp agave nectar
• 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt

Toss all ingredients in the food processor and pulse 7-8 times on high. Add more lemon juice and olive oil as needed until you get the consistency you desire! (Add more olive oil if you are adding the pesto to a pasta-type dish.)

This recipe really adheres to the "less is more" philosophy. I chose not to add any nuts and keep the oil level on the low-side because the radishes do a great job of adding the grittier texture as well as moisture to the pesto. Don't skimp on the agave though! It is important to counter-balance the spicy, slightly acidic flavor of the radishes and is crucial to balance out the pesto-ey flavors.

What a perfect and practical summer radish dish!

Live long and prosper. And eat your radishes!