Knowledge Base > Char Nolan - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Char Nolan - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

This event was on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

Join Chef Char Nolan in her virtual office as she welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to ask anything – from cooking techniques to cou… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

How can I make a pesto sauce I'll love without oil and cheese?

— Denise Tarasuk

Answer:

So I think that in terms of making a delicious pesto, you wanna have beautiful, fresh basil, and you want to have, I like to use organic walnuts. Uh, I don't know too many people these days who use pine nuts because they're extremely, extremely expensive. They might be about $30 a pound, so walnuts, fresh basil, and this is the time where nutritional yeast really does take its bow in terms of being, it tastes like cheese. And then, uh, if you like salt and pepper, you might do that. But in terms of trying to make a, um, a pesto that tastes a lot like what you may have known in your house growing up, or what you've seen in a jar, I would even recommend to stay away from some of the vegan pestos that I have seen, because they are loaded with lots and lots of oil, and they have a very high sodium content as well. So I say that this is where you are going to be the, the, uh, inventor of Denise's vegan, uh, pesto. And you'll find ingredients that work for you. But in terms of it being like something that has lots of olive oil and tons and tons of cheese, I'm not going to say it's impossible, but you will find and make your own that is totally delicious. And I will come to your house and share it with you.
Char Nolan

Char Nolan

Chef Instructor

@char_nolan