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Recipes ·

Trish's Gut-Loving Herb Pesto

Green herb pesto in a spoon with fresh basil leaves

By Trish Tucker-May, Registered Nutritionist

I make a version of this most weeks. It started as a way to get more variety into my own diet without adding another chore to the evening, and it has stuck around because it is one of the easiest habits I hand to clients. You are not really following a recipe so much as a method, so once you have made it once you will stop looking at the quantities.

Why herbs, not just flavour

Fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley, coriander, oregano, chives, sage and garlic carry a good dose of plant polyphenols, the compounds that give herbs their sharper, more bitter edge. Herbs and garlic have long been valued for their antimicrobial and prebiotic properties, and blending them raw into olive oil is one of the simplest ways to get more of them into a normal meal. Results vary from person to person, and this pesto is a way of eating well, not a treatment for any gut condition.

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What you need

  • 150ml olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • A handful of fresh herbs, whatever you have on hand
  • ¼ cup raw cashews or pine nuts
  • ½ teaspoon tamari, or ½ teaspoon brown rice miso paste
  • A pinch of red chilli powder (optional)
  • A squeeze of half a lemon, or 1 drop of food-grade lemon essential oil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

How to make it

  1. Roughly chop the herbs and garlic if you are working by hand.
  2. Put the herbs, garlic, nuts, tamari or miso, chilli and lemon into a herb grinder or food processor with the olive oil, and blend to a rough, runny paste. No grinder? A mortar and pestle works, or the rounded end of a rolling pin in a bowl.
  3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Spoon into a jar. It is fine at room temperature for a couple of days, then keep it in the fridge.

Trish’s favourite combinations

I rotate a few different blends through the week so I am getting a spread of herbs rather than the same one every day:

  • Sage, thyme and cumin seeds. I grind these separately first to get them as powdered as possible before adding the fresh herbs and oil, with a pinch of sea salt.
  • Oregano, parsley, basil and garlic, with a small amount of red chilli and a teaspoon of brown rice miso paste.
  • Turmeric root, chives and rosemary, with a touch of tamari.

How to use it

Add a teaspoon or two to salads or as a garnish on the plate rather than cooking it into a dish. Serving it raw, after the food is cooked, keeps more of the herbs’ natural compounds intact than adding it to a hot pan.

If you are avoiding nuts, leave them out. If you are watching sodium, use less tamari or miso and add extra lemon and herbs for flavour instead.

About Trish

Trish Tucker-May is a Registered Nutritionist, a member of the Federation of Nutritional Therapy Practitioners (UK) and the author of Nourish Your Gut For A Positive Menopause. She works with women over 40 on gut health and hormonal balance. Read more on her expert page, or find her at www.trishtuckermay.com.

Results vary from person to person. Nutrition information on Veganiac is general in nature and is not a substitute for advice from your GP or an accredited practising dietitian.

  • pesto
  • gut health
  • herbs
  • trish tucker-may

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