Spicy Pesto & Roast Vegetables Recipe

Pesto Ingredients:

2 cups fresh cilantro or basil
3 large garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 t ground red pepper
1/4 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds

Pesto Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients together in a food processor or blender.
2. Puree until almost smooth.
3. Any leftovers can be frozen in ice cube trays for individualized portions or refrigerated for up to a week.

Roast Vegetables Recipe:

1 recipe of Pesto (above)
1 medium eggplants, cut into thin slices
1 medium pattypan squash, cubed bite size
1 leek, cut into thin rounds and separated
1 red onion, sliced thinly in strips and separated
1 sweet onion, sliced thinly in strips and separated
4 baby red potatoes, with skin, quartered bite size
1 large yams, with skin, cubed bite size
2 medium beets, skinned, cubed bite size

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine pesto and washed, cut veggies in a big bowl until all veggies are covered in pesto.
3. On a large baking sheet with rim around the edge, spread the veggies out so they aren’t overlapping.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, remove from oven, gently turn veggies over on the pan.
5. Bake for another 30-40 minutes until onions are crispy and starting to carmelize and potatoes are nicely browned.
6. Serve hot. (Cold leftovers are tasty too!)

Note: When basil is not in season I use a 500 gram/8 oz pre-made basil pesto from our local grocery store (Sunflower Kitchen brand is vegan and nut-free).

Note 2: Eliminate potatoes and yams and/or replace with other low carb veggies to make this recipe low carb.