Elimination Diet: Cilantro Pesto Recipe

What an exciting night we had in the Kittchen! I loved watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, even if I found it a bit disheartening at some points, and I made an awesome elimination diet-friendly meal of roasted broccoli (sans parmesan), brown rice, almond encrusted cod (I adapted Umami's recipe, using olive oil instead of ghee), and cilantro pesto. This was T's first encounter with elimination diet food (I do love him dearly, but I don't have the energy to make two dinners on a Friday night), and he really liked it (or so he says).

I wanted to share the cilantro pesto recipe with you here, because it was so simple and so good. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the end result, because the Food Revolution came on and I didn't have time to photograph the pesto before T ate the whole batch (seriously...like two cups of pesto).

Cilantro Pesto

• 1 bunch of cilantro, washed and patted dry
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
• 3-4 cloves garlic, quickly sautéed
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

1. In a medium pan over medium heat, toast the pine nuts (stirring occasionally), until they deepen in color. Add the garlic and maybe a tablespoon of olive oil to allow the garlic to cook for a few minutes, until just beginning to brown.


2. In a food processor, blend together the pine nuts, garlic, cilantro, olive oil, salt, and pepper until it reaches the texture you like. I prefer smooth pesto, so I let it go for a few minutes.








Most pesto recipes call for raw garlic, and I just can't stand the sharp taste, so I tend to sauté it just for a few minutes to remove some of the bite. This pesto is great on fish, mixed in with rice to make it a bit more exciting, or served as a spread on crostini (which is how T managed to finish off the whole batch).

The diet is still going well. My fogginess is gone, and I'm about to head into a no-meat detox week tomorrow. We're having a last meat meal of rosemary-rubbed lamb chops, golden beets, and brown rice pasta tonight--should be tasty!