Mint & Lemon Verbena Pesto

I adapted this Mint & Lemon Verbena Pesto recipe from Meghan Telpner's wonderful blog post on 10 Amazing Things To Do With Mint. Lemon Verbena and Basil will work this way, too. Serve on pasta, salad, pizza, crackers or fish:

Mint & Lemon Verbena Pesto

¼ cup walnut halves or pine nuts1½ cups fresh Mint leaves 1½ cups fresh Lemon Verbena leaves
¼ cup olive oil¼ cup sunflower seeds2 cloves garlic2 teaspoons lemon juice¼ teaspoon salt

Traditionally, parmesan cheese is added, too,

but this dairy-free version is also delicious.

Toast the walnuts or pine nuts in the oven or pan for 5-10 minutes, turning occasionally.

Combine the basil, mint and oil in a food processor or blender until smooth. (Streaming in the oil while processing is ideal.)

Add the toasted walnuts, sunflower seeds and garlic and blend until pureed.

Add the lemon juice and salt and blend once more.

It’s now ready to be used or stored in the fridge in an air tight container or freeze in an ice cube tray and transfer to a freezer-safe container to use later.