Pesto Sauce
This is a classic sauce to serve with pasta. If you are avoiding wheat products while on the Eat to Beat Arthritis Diet you can still enjoy this sauce with gluten-free pasta, or use it to add extra flavour to fish and a variety of cooked vegetables. If you find that wheat does not adversely affect your arthritis, you can enjoy this sauce with every kind of pasta. Make the sauce with a mixture of herbs or just basil leaves.
| Ingredients | SERVES 4 |
| METRIC (IMPERIAL) | AMERICAN |
| about 8 flat parsley leaves, coarsely shredded | about 8 |
| 2 small sprigs marjoram or oregano | 2 small sprigs |
| about 20 basil leaves | about 20 |
| 2 garlic cloves | 2 |
| 75g (scant 3oz) Parmesan cheese, grated | good ½ cup |
| 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil | 6¼ tablespoons |
| 100g (3½oz) pine (pignolia) nuts | 1 cup |
| sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste |
Method
- Put all the ingredients into a liquidizer or food processor and process to a thick purée. Serve cold.
Variations
Often 1–2 tablespoons of melted butter are liquidized with the other ingredients to give greater richness to the sauce.
You can add a second cheese. Pecorino (romano) is an Italian choice, but 2–3 tablespoons of goat’s cheese could be used while on the diet.
Use blanched almonds instead of pine nuts.