I have never fallen so instantly in love with a recipe as I did with this Pistachio Pesto from PaleOMG, I made  this recipe from the lovely Juli Bauer but replaced the chicken with shrimp.  The beautiful flavor of the roasted pistachios trick you into thinking there is cheese involved when in fact there is not. I pretty much make this weekly and put it on EVERYTHING; my eggs, mixed into soup, on my zoodles, spread on a piece of fish or even on a spoon.  Honestly, it has made my everyday life even more enjoyable than it already is.  Dramatic? Perhaps. But true.

Ingredients:

1 cup of pistachios, unsalted and shelled*
1-1 1/2 cups of basil leaves
2 cloves of garlic
1/2-1 cup of olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Place pistachios in a food processor and pulse.
2. Add garlic and basil and turn food processor on.
3. While food processor is still on, add the olive oil slowly until it becomes your preference of thickness** and then add your lemon juice.
4. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Here I have used it a substitute for cheese with my Paleo Spaghetti and meatballs.

*You can pick up a bag of shelled pistachios at B.J.s for $20… a bit of an extravagance maybe but the bag *should* last you a while and will elevate the flavors in those quick weeknight dinners.

**I like it slightly thin because I refrigerate it making it more solid once cold.  Either way it will be delicious.