Brazil nut pesto

I love Brazil nuts. As well as pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, and also the humble peanuts.

I’ve a special affinity for Brazil nuts. Maybe it’s because of its creamy taste or crunchy texture, or that I’d almost always get a larger bite of Brazil nut than any other nut in a trail mix, thus making its flavour more intense.

Anyhow, I recently bought some Brazil nuts to make some granola and decided to use some of them to make pesto. I’ve mixed feelings about pine nuts – the typical nut used in pesto – as I find them to have an odd meaty flavour.

I found some Brazil nut pesto recipes online and it turned out to be really easy to prepare this delicious pesto!

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup Brazil nuts

1- 1 1/2 cups loosely packed mixture of coriander and basil

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1/8-1/4 cup parmesan cheese, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt to taste

Blend the garlic and Brazil nuts in a processor until crumbly. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until you obtain a desired consistency for pesto. I prefer my pesto to be crumbly, moist but not overly wet nor oily.

This recipe makes around 1 cup of Brazil nut pesto and should keep for around 10 days when refrigerated. It’s delicious with pasta and crackers. Tomorrow, I’ll try some with roasted broccoli.

By the way, this 1999 Smithsonian magazine article on Brazil nuts is quite fascinating and informative!