Artichoke Lemon Pesto

This simple artichoke pesto is, honestly, pretty bland — and that’s a good thing! It means you can customize this pesto to your liking and add it to lots of foods. (At the end of this post, I have listed some of my favorite ways to use this pesto.)

Artichokes contain prebiotics. I tend to think of prebiotics as food for probiotics – the good bacteria in your gut. But it’s a little more complicated than that. According to the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP): “A prebiotic is a selectively fermented ingredient that results in specific changes in the composition and/or activity of the gastrointestinal microbiota, thus conferring benefit(s) upon host health. (Gibson et al. 2010. Food Science and Technology Bulletin: Functional Foods 7 (1) 1–19.)”

For credible scientific information about prebiotics and probiotics, see:

• Prebiotics: A Consumer Guide for Making Smart Choices 
• Probiotics: A Consumer Guide for Making Smart Choices 

INGREDIENTS

1, 12-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, cooked according to package directions, drained
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
grated rind of one organic lemon
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon of salt

DIRECTIONS

Place all of the ingredients into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until a smooth paste forms.

Store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Freeze what you will not use up in a week.

FOOD SAFETY TIP –  Before you head to your kitchen, please read this Food Safety Tip!

When you combine garlic and oil, you create an environment in which botulism (a deadly food-born bacteria) can grow. According to the University of Colorado Extension Service, to prevent the possible growth of botulism when mixing oil and garlic, you should always “add an acidifying agent such as lemon juice or vinegar to the recipe at the rate of one tablespoon per cup of oil.” Also you should “discard infusions after one week, or sooner if apparent cloudiness, gas bubbles, or foul odor develop.”

FREEZE IT!

A great way to store extra fresh herb sauce is to freeze it in silicone muffin pans. For details, see the post, Silicone Muffin Pans – a Kitchen Staple – but not for baking!

OTHER FRESH HERB SAUCE  RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE

• Arugula Pesto - REALLY easy to make!
• Cilantro Chutney (Indian) – Everybody loves this one.
• Charmoula (Moroccan) – Totally amazing! Adds a lot of pop to the food!
• Basil Pesto(Italian) – A great standby.

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH THIS ARTICHOKE LEMON PESTO? 

• Use this Artichoke Lemon Pesto recipe as a starter to make something even more flavorful

ARTICHOKE LEMON PESTO + grated Parmesan Cheese + chopped fresh flat leaf (Italian) Parsley .

• Improve any salad dressing

ARTICHOKE LEMON PESTO + your favorite Italian salad dressing.

• Create a delicious thick and creamy salad dressing

ARTICHOKE LEMON PESTO + fresh squeezed orange juice + dried oregano (fresh would be too overpowering) + fresh garlic (minced fine) + salt. Makes a great salad dressing. Try it on greens and top with pecan halves. Amazing! I served this dressing (without the garlic) at the lunch I made for my mom on her 89th birthday. She loved it! Personally I like this dressing with the garlic in it, but for those like my mom who don’t like garlic, it’s great without it too.

Enjoy and be healthy!

~Leni

Updated Crustless Mini Quiches

Here’s an updated version (easier and faster) of my earlier recipe for Spinach and Onion Crustless Quiches. This new recipe has lots of veggies, just like the former recipe, and a bit more protein than in the former recipe! In fact, per Crustless Mini Quiche you get about 7 grams of protein (4 grams from the egg whites + 2 grams from the Parmesan cheese mixture + 1 gram from the nutritional yeast).

For more on an optimal plant-based diet, including the latest information about the amount and kind of protein we need at different ages, see Happy, Healthy Long Life blog, 9 April 2011.

Crustless Mini Quiches

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Ingredients per recipe (makes 12)
1, 16-ounce bag frozen organic chopped spinach
or
1, 16-ounce bag frozen broccoli pieces

1, 16 ounce container of liquid egg whites

Ingredients per Crustless Mini Quiche (1 of 12 mini quiches)

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast (optional)
+The nutritional yeast adds flavor – some would say it’s a cheesy flavor, but to me it seems like it adds just a little more depth of flavor.
+ Available at Whole Foods, in the supplement section; sold in cans. Some people use nutritional yeast as an amino acid supplement, but in this recipe it just adds a little high quality protein to each quiche.

a sprinkling of onion powder
a sprinkling of garlic powder
a little freshly grated nutmeg
+I like to use a microplane to grate whole nutmeg. Here’s a video showing a microplane being used to grate whole nutmeg.

2 teaspoons grated Parmesan  cheese or Parmesan and Romano cheeses

Directions
If using spinach….
Place frozen spinach in a large microwaveable container and heat in the microwave, uncovered, on high, until fully cooked — and then two minutes more. This will evaporate some of the moisture from the spinach and that’s good in this case. Divide the cooked spinach into the 12 cups of a non-stick muffin pan. Leave the spinach loose, not packed down.

If using broccoli…
Defrost broccoli in the microwave and then let it cool. Place cooled broccoli into work bowl of food processor and process until it’s finely chopped. Divide the broccoli into the 12 cups of a non-stick muffin pan; do not pack down.

Sprinkle the nutritional yeast over the spinach (or broccoli).

Spinach with nutritional yeast

Into each muffin cup, add onion powder, garlic powder, a little freshly grated nutmeg and the Parmesan cheese.

Pour the liquid egg whites into each muffin cup, filling almost  to the top. Gently mix the contents with a fork.

Bake for about 25 minutes in pre-heated 375 F-oven, or until quiches just start to brown on top.

Baked!

Allow baked quiches to cool slightly and then remove the mini quiches from muffin cups. (They slip right out!)

Enjoy and be healthy!
~Leni