While searching for a genius food contributor of some sort, I prayed that the amazing recipe developer, cook, editor, writer, and health coach Beth Lipton would agree to give us a little love here at A Child Grows; and my prayers were answered. I have immense respect for her suggestions and ideas, and by following her dietary advice I have seen incredible results for overall health and fertility at 39, when I was questioning my future (fast forward to a beautiful baby boy at 40). Here she shares with us her special recipe for hemp seed pesto… enjoy! ~Rebecca Conroy
Hemp Seed Pesto
Yield: About 3/4 cup
Slice 2 fat garlic cloves; place in a cold skillet with 1/2 cup good-quality extra-virgin olive oil. Turn heat to low and cook until it sizzles. Meanwhile, put 2 packed cups fresh basil, 1/4 cup hemp seeds (or chopped nuts) and the zest of a small lemon in a food processor. Add the garlic oil and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Taste it; if it needs a little something, process in about 1/2 tsp. raw honey. Cover and chill until ready to use.
“I love this recipe because it uses up a lot of basil (which grows like mad on my little terrace), and it’s really healthy. It is free of both nuts and cheese, so that’s really helpful if you are dealing with any special dietary needs–but you won’t miss either one. Hemp seeds are protein-, fiber- and mineral-rich, and they’re great for so many things. As for this pesto, it’s tasty on pasta, mixed with plain yogurt as a salad dressing or brushed on fish before baking.”
Beth is the food director for Health magazine. She’s also a cookbook author, recipe developer and health coach. Find out more about her at bethlipton.com. Her latest cookbook, Peaches, is available at shortstackeditions.com.