I Love Pesto.
I just love it. I don’t know if I could get enough of it. And there are so many different ways of making pesto too! You can switch out traditional walnuts with cashews, almonds, pistachios, even pumpkin seeds. And you can add in parsley, cilantro or kale for a different taste with your traditional basil. Pesto is a raw food, there is no cooking involved, and it is extremely healthy. You are mixing together raw olive oil (which some argue are a superfood), raw basil (herbs have powerful medicinal properties), perhaps some other greens (micronutrients), raw garlic (anti-bacterial), fresh lemon juice (antibacterial and nutritional), your choice of nuts (protein and healthy omega 3’s), and a dash of sea salt! Nice ingredient choices.
But enough about pesto, this recipe is mainly to help you create a bomb-diggity sandwich. Wow. So my husband is the maker of this recipe. I was not a believer at first. I simply asked him to make us a batch of pesto, and I was going to slap some daiya cheese and tomato together on 2 slices of bread. For Tim, this wasn’t good enough. He went out to Whole Foods, purchased Sperlonga bread (for just $3!), and whipped up a delicious sandwich that he begged me to try (but I was stubborn because it contained raw onions, yuck right?). Man was I wrong, this bite full was SO FLAVORFUL! It left me wanting more!! He ended up making it for me the rest of the week, and 2 of my co-workers even paid for their own sandwich by Tim lol! It’s an easy to put together sub, but gives you room to add more veggies and good stuff into your diet in a delicious way.
I am always so bad at making sandwiches, and salads for that matter…so writing this out really helps me out for the next time I need to make a sandwich other than a peanut butter and jelly lol! We never really grew up much with sandwiches, I mean I had tuna fish sandwiches, and burgers…that was about it. But Tims family has perfected the art of ‘The Sandwich’. They know the right kind of sauces, spreads, condiments, ingredients, etc to put into it, and how to toast it just right. Ugh! Soo good!!! So glad I married a good cook ;P
Ingredients
- BREAD:
- 2 Foot Long - Sperlonga Bread (or bread of your choice)
- -
- FILLINGS:
- 1 - Large Tomato, Sliced
- 1/2 - Red Onion, Sliced
- A Few Large Leaves - Iceberg Lettuce (or greens of your choice)
- 1 - Jalapeno, Sliced (optional - adds spice and flavor)
- 1 Package - Peppered Deli Slices by Tofurky (or other veggie meat)
- 1 Package - Follow Your Heart Smoked Gouda Cheese Slices
- 1 Package - Daiya Cheese Slices (or other vegan cheese - flavor of your choice)
- 1/2 Cup - Pesto (recipe below)
- -
- PESTO:
- 1 Extra Large Handful - Basil (preferably find the big packages of basil and use the whole thing)
- 1/2 Cup - Cashews (soaked overnight, or nut of your choice)
- 1 Lemon - Juiced
- 2-3 Cloves - Garlic
- 3-4 Tbsp - Olive Oil
- Dash Sea Salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Slice your bread into 3 or 4 sections (however big you want your sandwich to be), then slice them in half so you have a top and a bottom. Toast the top and bottom of the section you want to eat today in your toaster oven with however many slices of Daiya cheese, gouda cheese slices, and tofurky slices you want to coat your bread with (it is best to make your sandwich fresh, as it remains crispy and not soggy).
- Meanwhile, wash and slice your ingredients. Set aside what you will be using on your sandwich today, and package up leftover ingredients into smaller containers.
- To make the pesto, throw all of the ingredients into a high powered blender, and blend until smooth and creamy, (usually 30 seconds to 1 minute on high will do it). Then scoop out and place into a smaller container to throw on your sandwiches fresh as the week goes by.
- Once your bread has toasted nicely, and the cheese has begun to melt, take out and assemble your sub with the ingredients you left out. Feel free to add other things to this too, like vegan mayo, or olives, etc.
Bit into it with two hands and enjoy!