I go through "beet" phases where I keep thinking of things to do with beets and satisfy my craving. Taking a cue from my Beet Burgers, I pulled a couple of the key ingredients out, beets and sunflower seeds, and combined them with summer fresh basil to make this Vegan Beet Pesto!
A lot of people hate beets, probably due to childhood trauma of being forced to eat canned beets, which are overcooked, mushy and have a dull dirty flavor. Put that impression aside and try beets again! Roasted beets, pickled beets, and even raw beets have a much more favorable texture and when paired with vinegar (pickling), the earthiness and acid have a perfect balance that bring out a wonderful sweet juicy flavor experience. Luckily, grocery stores now offer a few options for ready-made pickled beets, shortening the preparation time for this Vegan Beet Pesto to just 10 minutes!
To make this "pesto," I've added basil; just about the only traditional pesto ingredient here (aside from olive oil). Basil has a bright and fresh taste that helps lift the beets. Orange juice is another trick to offset earthiness. I love beet salad with roasted beets and orange sections, so adding orange juice to the pesto was a great move!
This relish is naturally vegan (no cheese!), and gluten-free. Beets have various levels of FODMAP depending on preparation. According to Monash FODMAP guide, 2/3 cup of pickled beets (in vinegar) remain low-FODMAP. Sunflower seeds are low-FODMAP in 2 teaspoon servings and it is not clear if more than that begins to add FODMAPs. 1 serving of Vegan Beet Pesto (approximately 2-3 tablespoons) contains about double a serving of sunflower seeds, so if you know these are a trigger, cut back your serving size accordingly.
Enjoy Vegan Beet Pesto any way you would enjoy regular pesto: on bread/toast, crackers, in pasta, on pizza, in bowls. My favorite way to have Vegan Beet Pesto is in a salad of baby greens, chopped roasted or pickled beets, orange pieces, walnuts, and either tofu feta or if not dairy-free, some soft goat cheese crumbles. Drizzle a tiny bit of orange-infused olive oil over the greens and then dollop the pesto in the center of your salad to garnish each bite of salad as you go.
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