Vegan mint pesto

Breakfast: An almond butter smoothie

Lunch: Mushroom soup and crusty bread with vegan mint pesto

Dinner: Leftover vegan spaghetti bolognese

You know when you buy coriander, basil or mint, there's always heaps left over that goes bad really quickly? Well, I hate waste, so that proper bothers me.

I had to buy some mint for yesterday's tofu fried rice, and even after a day I could see it was just going to be thrown out without having been used. So I used it. This mint pesto is great on sandwiches or even just with bread, and you can even use it as an interesting pasta accompaniment. It's deliciously refreshing!

You'll need:
(Serves 2 as a pasta sauce or 4 as a dip)

2 cup fresh mint leaves
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup olive oil

Method:

Place the mint, garlic, lemon juice and almonds in a blender and blend to a paste
Add in the olive oil a bit at a time, blending and then tasting
Stop when it reaches your desired consistency and serve with pasta or crispy bread

I love pesto and very much miss buying the store bought stuff, as most of it has parmesan in it. The almonds in this help to create the same texture and bring a little bit of goodness to the final product.

If you are a meat eater, this would be great rubbed into the outside of a piece of lamb just before it's cooked; or if you want to go the English route you could stir it into mushy peas and serve with a veggie pie!

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