Peel and cut 1 clove of garlic lengthwise, and remove its core, if any.
Chop the garlic into small pieces and add it to a small food processor with ⅓ cup of walnuts, 2 tablespoons of pine nuts, 4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, and ½ teaspoon of salt.Blend for 1 minute or until the ingredients are reduced into coarse flour.
Add 2 packed cups of basil leaves, ¼ cup of cold water, and ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil.
Pulse a few times until the basil is finely minced, and you get a creamy green pesto.
Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator in a bowl with a thin layer of olive oil on top to prevent it from turning dark. Alternatively, transfer into a small jar and freeze up to 6 months.Tip: never warm up basil pesto with direct heat. It'll change color and lose flavor.
To use it with pasta, add pesto to a bowl, add ½ cup of pasta cooking water, and stir to dilute it. Reserve some more pasta water for later.Tip: remember to salt the pasta cooking water with a generous amount of salt before cooking the pasta.
Drain pasta, add it to the bowl with the pesto and stir to combine. Add more reserved pasta water or more pesto if necessary.