Spring Leek Pesto

Spring is definitely here, and one of my favorite light veggie-infused pesto sauce recipes is the Spring Leek Pesto Sauce. It’s rich and creamy with the zesty-sweet flavor or spring leeks. It is accented with lots of lemon, walnuts, basil and garlic. This pesto is vegan since it is dairy-free. The walnuts and leeks add enough “oomph” to make your pasta sing! Try this spring pasta recipe and learn to love leeks..

Spring Leek Pesto

Vegan Pesto Sauce. I adore pesto on pasta. I change up the flavors by adding in citrus, jalapeno, garlic, and even assorted green veggies like mache. Her are a few of my past fave pesto sauce recipes:

* Rockstar Pesto
* Spicy Mache Pesto - used in my Lasagna Verde
* Cheezy Toasted Walnut Pesto

…and added to this list is this recipe! I am always looking for ways to include leeks in my diet, and this recipe does just that! I get the intense flavor of leeks in the pesto – then I also add them sliced and sauteed into the veggie garnish.

Healthy Pasta! This pasta is packed with nutrients. It’s high in fiber, a good source of protein from the peas, nuts and grains – and it is packed with antioxidants from the green veggies. Plus healthy fats from the walnuts and olive oil.

Try this dish for a super spring supper..

Spring Leek Pesto Sauce

1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 garlic cloves
4 cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed well – still damp (loosely packed)
1 3/4 cups sliced leeks, cleaned (about 2 small leeks)
1 cup raw walnuts
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 jalapeno, de-seeded (opt’l)

Directions: Start making your pesto (then follow with your pasta and garnish veggies). Clean and prep all your leeks – make sure to rinse and grit inside the folds. Add all your ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. The excess water from the rinsed basil leaves should keep the pesto ‘loose’ enough – but add ore liquid if the consistency is too thick. The ideal consistency is like a wet, chunky hummus.

Fold the pesto into the just-boiled pasta

To Serve: add to your favorite pasta. I like whole wheat penne for this sauce – but any variety will work.
Garnish: a saute of peas, sliced leeks, olive oil, pinch of salt and lemon juice.

Spring Leek Pesto

Interested in learning my about leeks and their health benefits? See this post. (more yummy pics here too!)

leek pesto

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