Can you even make a low fodmap basil pesto? Doesn’t the term “basil pesto” bring to mind visions of IBS nightmares like too much garlic, too much fat, cheese lactose, high fodmap nuts? It does to me.
In case you are a newbie to your IBS diagnosis, IBS folk must be cognizant of the insoluble fiber in foods as well as the fodmap chemicals in food. If we don’t keep track of fiber and fodmaps, we can be caught unawares in an unexpected IBS attack.
Where is this glorious information that will change the IBS misery of our lives into happiness? I use the helpforibs.com cheat sheet that lists trigger foods, insoluble fiber foods and soluble fiber foods along with the Monash University Fodmap App. Both of these are indispensable for living safely with IBS.
Armed with the Fodmap App and the helpforibs.com cheat sheet, I decided to try making a pesto using only low fodmap and soluble fiber ingredients. My Italian family’s Abruzzi Italian recipe for pesto includes tons of basil, huge amounts of olive oil, a lot of parmesan or pecorino grated cheese, chopped raw garlic and a cup of pine nuts or walnuts. Many of these ingredients could send me to Il Bagno for a week. Yikes! Still, as I began my pesto recipe revamp, I said a silent prayer that my Italian ancestors in Heaven don’t ask God to strike me dead for messing with their recipe. lol.
In the case of Basil pesto, the offending ingredients are raw basil (or any raw herbs), chopped raw garlic, too much cheese and raw nuts. However, there are ways to keep the flavors of these offending ingredients but change the way they are used.
First, to retain the garlic flavor but eliminate the fodmap chemicals in garlic, I sauteed sliced garlic in a third of a cup of olive oil until the oil was suffused with garlic flavor . I then removed the garlic and threw it away. (Do not substitute garlic salt or powder which still contain the offending fodmaps.)
Basil is a fresh herb that contains insoluble fiber, but pesto is used in small amounts and such small amounts as well as the severe chopping that basil undergoes in the pesto making process make it tolerable.
Too much fat can bring on an IBS flare, so I reduced the amount of olive oil to 1/3 cup. Since pesto is used in small amounts, the oil amount per serving remains safe.
Parmesan cheese is a hard cheese that is lactose free when well aged. I use imported parmigiana reggiano cheese that has been aged for several years. it is lactose free and safe to use.
Since any nuts that go into pesto are chopped very finely, a tablespoon or so could be safe to use, but I eliminate them in this recipe. For me, no amount is really safe.
Salt and pepper are always safe so I use Fleur De Sel salt and fresh cracked pepper in this recipe to give it a nice punch of flavor. Sometimes, I also add a spritz of lemon juice, but leaving it out is fine.
So here is my revamped, low fodmap pesto recipe that tastes divine on pasta, pasta salad, tomatoes, and risotto. Yum!
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of packed basil leaves
1 or two cloves of fresh garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 cup of olive oil (Extra virgin or mild)
3 Tbsp of well aged grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
spritz of fresh lemon juice (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Take out a blender or food processor. (I use a blender). Take out a small non-stick frying . Assemble your ingredients.
Slice the garlic. Measure out the basil, oil, and cheese and have them ready.i
Pour the oil into the frying pan and heat up on medium high. Place the sliced garlic in the pan when the oil is shimmering. Stir the garlic around in the oil until the oil gives out a lovely garlicky odor and turns slightly golden. Remove the garlic from oil and throw it away. Set aside the oil to cool.. Do not let the garlic burn. If you do, throw out the oil and start again.
Place the basil leaves in the bottom of the blender, put on the top and whirl it briefly until it is roughly chopped. Stop the blender. Add a tablespoon or so of oil and blend lightly. Keep the blender going and slowly add in all the oil. Then add in the parmesan cheese. Stop the blender and scrape it down making sure it is all incorporated well. Scrape out all the pesto into a small bowl and season it with the sea salt and pepper and lemon juice (if using). Stir the pesto making sure all the oil and cheese are incorporated. Taste for seasoning.
Place the pesto in a closed container in the fridge until ready to use it or freeze it in small plastic bags that you will use for one or two servings at a time.
Enjoy on pasta, risotto, pizza, sliced tomatoes – the list is endless.
