Spinach Pesto!

What is more delicious than a bowl full of fresh pesto over pasta? The spicy bite of the garlic, the saltiness of the Parmesan, just heavenly! But basil can be expensive in the quantities needed for a batch of pesto, and store bought varieties are full of preservatives and some don't even use olive oil!

My solution was to replace the basil with my seasonal ingredient, spinach! Pesto is easy enough to make at home, and spinach is so cheap you can make big batches at a time and freeze the leftover! Spinach is also super healthy for you, and this recipe might be a great way to get picky kids and/or husbands to eat it willingly.

The dish I made today was just pesto over shaped pasta with Italian seasoned tofu. Simple an delicious!

Here is the pesto recipe:
1 lb of spinach (less if using baby spinach)
2-4 large cloves of garlic, peeled
1/3 cup walnuts
1/4 cup Parmesan
Enough extra virgin olive oil to make smooth sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss garlic cloves into your food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped
Add walnuts and Parmesan and pulse until walnuts are also finely chopped
Add a few glugs of olive oil and as much of the spinach as will fit and pulse until well mixed, and repeat adding spinach and olive oil as needed
Season with salt and pepper

A spoonful of pesto mixed in with some shaped noodles and some pasta water really brings it together. I added some seasoned tofu for a protein.

This fresh tasty dish is super fast and easy to whip up and very very filling at the same time! Enjoy if you decide to try it, share and subscribe please! Happy eating.