Little Fish Food || Nearly-FODMAP vegan-friendly pesto.

During my university years (and oh how long ago that feels now...) one of my firm staples that fitted the student budget was pesto and pasta. I absolutely adore pesto, the garlic-basil-pinenut-cheese combo was heavenly, and although I knew back then that pasta didn’t do me much good the alternatives were too expensive and the now-popular vegetable based ‘pastas’ weren’t really around for the regular folk like me...

Since tweaking my diet somewhat to cut out the nasties and reduce those FODMAPS, I can no longer divulge in a massive plate of the stuff. I thought I was waving goodbye to those happy memories and quick fixes (although gratefully accepting a happier tummy!) until I stumbled across low-FODMAP pesto from Sarah’s blog - A Saucy Kitchen - and her instagram (check her out @asaucykitchen).

Now, I had to make a fair few adjustments since my pine-nut supply had diminished somewhat and I needed something to make the flavour pop a little but I think it really worked and I’d love to share it. Just a quick note that technically cashew nuts are high on the FODMAP scale hence the 'nearly-FODMAP' status (heartbreaking I know, I do love them) but this recipe only uses 1/3 of a cup so there’s only a small amount per serving. You know your body better than I do (and you’ll know whether you can tolerate cashews)! 

I also didn't use any parmesan so this recipe is vegan friendly though you could easily add this as per the original recipe, just make sure you add this in before any addition of salt because the cheese will add a natural saltiness anyway.

This recipe makes about 4 servings depending on how much pesto you like. I mixed this with coodles (courgette noodles, how cute!) but this would work perfectly well with your favourite pasta or spaghetti (whether you're gluten-free or not!)

The ingredients:

• 1 cup (approx. 50g) chopped chives
• 2 cups of loosely packed basil
• 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup of cashews (or pine nuts if you have them)
• A good squeeze of lemon (to taste, I used about 1/2 lemon)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Natural vibrancy!

The how to...

• Throw the basil and chives into your blender (I just used a stick blender with a mini-chopper attachment but any should work fine here). Don't add the EVOO, lemon juice, and salt and pepper just yet.
• Whiz it together and slowly add the EVOO, mixing after each trickle to help emulsify it.
• Once all of the oil is added and your mixture resembles pesto (like the photo above!) add your lemon juice and salt/pepper to taste!

Delicious, simple, and perfect for a weeknight.

Little fish, xo