Radish Top Pesto

If you too have a crisper drawer that is slowly turning into a puddle of brown slimy goo— sorry to paint that picture— this Radish Top Pesto is exactly what you need.

The best thing about this Pesto (if you can really call it that) is that you can substitute the Radish Tops for various leafy greens to suit your needs:

• Kale

• Spinach

• Arugula

• Broccoli

This isn’t your traditional Pesto, and not just because we are using untraditional ingredients.

Pesto comes from the Italian word Pestare, which means to crush—typically done with a mortar and pestle. Which, to save of time, I did not use for my pesto. But if you’re feeling authentic, and like you could use a good arm workout, feel free to use a mortar and pestle for your pesto!

Let’s make it!

Recipe:

• 1 bunch Radish Tops (approx 1.5 cups)

• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

• 1 tbsp yuzu juice (can sub lemon juice)

• 2 cloves confit/ roasted garlic

• 1/4 tsp fresh grated ginger

• generous pinch salt

• pinch ground black pepper

• 1/2 tbsp fish sauce

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (can sub Parmesan cheese)

Place your pine nuts in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Toast the pinenuts, shaking the pan frequently, until golden and fragrant.
To prevent them from getting too dark remove them from the pan once toasted and place in a small bowl. Set aside.

Take your radish tops (radish unattached) and sift through to get rid of any yellow or slimy leaves.

Place them in a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water to get rid of any dirt or unwanted bits. Crunchy dirt and sand doesn’t make for a great textured pesto.

Shake off the leafy greens and dry them— either with a towel or a salad spinner— and place them in a food processor (or mortar and pestle if using).

Add the toasted pine nuts, yuzu juice, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper and fish sauce to the blender. Blitz until the leaves are mostly broken down.

Add the olive oil and nutritional yeast. Blend/ pulse until it forms a somewhat smooth paste. Try not to overwork it!

Taste to see if it is to your liking.

Transfer to an airtight container or use right away. To better preserve it, pour a small amount of olive oil on top of the pesto. This prevents the pesto from oxidizing, keeping it a nice bright green longer. This will last about a little over a week.

Alternatively, you can portion out the pesto and store it in the freezer.

Enjoy!

Looking for recipe inspiration? Check out the post below:

Miso Sea Bass & Pesto Rice