The almond and lemon pesto is a delicious garlic-free pesto, an alternative to pine nut pesto, with a slightly sweet taste and a slightly greenish color given by the combination of basil and mint leaves. For this pesto, you can use a mix of blanched almonds and those with skin in different proportions, and you’ll see that the pesto will be browner thanks to the almonds with skin and have a slightly bitter taste. I tried both versions and I prefer the one I’m sharing today with only blanched almonds. The choice is yours.
Below, I leave you some other pesto recipes to dress pasta or to enjoy on a toasted bread crostini for an appetizer, and then right after the photo as always, let’s discover how to prepare this almond and lemon pesto!!
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: No Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients for Almond and Lemon Pesto
- 5 oz blanched almonds (or 3.5 oz blanched and 1.75 oz with skin)
- 1 lemon (juice and grated zest)
- 6 leaves basil
- 6 leaves mint
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/6 cup water
- 2 pinches salt
- 2 pinches pepper
Tools
- Blender / Mixer immersion
Preparation of Almond and Lemon Pesto
To prepare the almond and lemon pesto, first grate the zest of 1 well-washed and dried lemon and set aside.
Squeeze the lemon juice, wash, and dry the basil and mint leaves.
In a blender or mixer or with a mortar, grind the almonds into powder.
You can use blanched almonds or a mix of blanched and with skin to give a darker color and more pungent taste to the pesto.
Add the oil, lemon juice, and zest to the almonds along with the basil and mint leaves and continue blending.
Add salt and pepper.
Now, remove the almond and lemon pesto from the mixer, dilute with a little water to make it creamier if you want to use it immediately.
Instead, if you intend to store it in the refrigerator, place it in an airtight jar, covering the surface with more extra virgin olive oil, and..
ENJOY YOUR MEAL
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How to Store Almond Pesto
You can store the almond and lemon pesto in the refrigerator for 4 days or if you prefer or make it in quantity, you can freeze it in small portions.
Other Recipes
If you want to see other types of recipes you can return to HOME.
