does pesto always contain nuts? Or can you get varieties of pesto that don't?

Question

I'm allergic to nuts and peanuts, and I ate a pizza tonight that had rocket pesto in the ingredients. I felt strange after eating the pizza and that was when I checked the ingredients and discovered the rocket pesto. I've never eaten pesto before because of the association with nuts. What are the chances this contained nuts?

Answer 1

Pesto traditionally contains pine nuts but if you make your own you can make it without and I'm sure you can buy a nut free one from somewhere (possibly a supermarket in the 'Free from' type section)
:-)

Answer 2

True Pesto contains Pinon nut (The high-fat nuts are actually from inside the Pine cone), they can cause allergic reaction. Most commercially prepared products will use this or another type of nut for the distinctive texture it lends to the dish. You could easily make it yourself and leaf the nut out or replace it with the less allergic Soy Nut. The recipe is simple:
Pesto Recipe
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts (sub soy nuts or omit entirely)
3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped (do about 3/4 cup at a time). Add about 1/3 the nuts and garlic, blend again.
Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese; blend while slowly adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, stopping to scrape down sides of container.
Process basil pesto it forms a thick smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used, mix all batches together well. Serve over pasta. Basil pesto keeps in refrigerator one week, or freeze for a few months.

Answer 3

Hi,
In good quality Pesto the "nut ingredient" is actually pine nuts which are officially seeds. Do you know if your allergic to pine nuts? In cheaper brands of pesto this ingredient is cashew or peanut so they are best avoided. Check out the link below to the UK Food Standards Commission for further info. :

Answer 4

The ONLY 'nut' in Pesto is a 'pine nut' which isn't actually a 'nut' at all ... but if you are 'allergic' to pine nuts, then you can 'make your own pesto' using any good 'pesto recipe' you want, and simply not put in any pine nuts or any nuts ...

Answer 5

Pesto

6 servings 5 min 5 min prep

2 cups chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup soft breadcrumbs
1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil (or more for consistency)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Place all ingredients in a mini-chopper or blender and blend until smooth.

Answer 6

You can exclude the pinola nuts if you fancy that, but it won't be true pesto. But if someone is allergic the nuts, it is best to forgo them, and trust me, it will still be good. To be honest, I don't really care if they are in it or not, I love the basil and garlic. As far as manufacturing goes, some may make nutless versions. Here, maybe try your hand at it:
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/426/Pesto_without_Pine_Nuts12185.shtml

http://www.deliaonline.com/messageboard/7/34154/thread.html

Answer 7

Most storebought pestos probably contain walnuts and/or pignoli (pine nuts). You can make your own w/o nuts. Pesto is pretty easy if you have a food processor.

Answer 8

Pesto Cream Sauce
This combines a rich, velvety pesto sauce with shrimp, mushrooms and tomatoes. It's sinfully delicious!

1 (16 ounce) package linguine pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper
1 1/2 cups grated Romano cheese
1 cup prepared basil pesto
1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
20 mushrooms, chopped
3 roma (plum) tomato, diced
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent. Stir in garlic and butter, and saute until garlic is soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Dissolve flour in milk, then stir in. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cheese, and stir until melted. Stir in pesto. Add shrimp, mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook 4 minutes, or until heated through. Toss with pasta until evenly coated.
Hope this helps..

Answer 9

pesto contains pine nuts, not sure if there is an alternative but there probably is, if you have an alergy to nuts it might not be affected by pine nuts, for instance i have a peanut alergy but can eat cashew nuts, and pine nuts as it happens, i had a linguini rustica tonight and no ill effects.

Answer 10

Most products contain nuts these days, even ones which are prepared in nut-free factories. Contact www.kinnerton.com for a list of nut-free products.