What tastes better than spinach-basil pesto on pasta? With summer kicking in, you can make homemade pesto sauce with spinach and basil, and even refrigerate it to use all the way to winter.
This versatile spinach-basil pesto sauce is excellent to be used for making quick and easy meals without having to worry about flavor and extra efforts. In twenty minutes you can make this spinach-basil pesto and freeze it in your refrigerator to use whenever you want.
Health Benefits
No sauce gets healthier than pesto. If you are a cholesterol patient or have cardiac diseases running in your family history; increase your consumption of pesto. It contains unsaturated fats which aid in improvising the cholesterol conditions.
Pesto is highly effective in diminishing inflammation in the body. When you have lower inflammation in your body, risks pertaining to heart diseases, diabetes, cancer and other diseases associated with aging are ultimately diminished.
The pine nuts in this spinach-basil pesto are a good source of magnesium. If you are suffering from low levels of fatigue or need a boost in energy, pine nuts in the pesto will sufficiently provide you that. What else is that spinach is low in cholesterol and high in niacin and zinc along with protein, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper and vitamins (A, C, E and K). Using spinach-basil pesto can provide you a fulfilling meal that sufficiently covers up majority of your nutrition requirements.
If you are still thinking what to add in your pasta tonight, spinach-basil pesto has to be the answer!
Ingredients
cups of baby spinach leaves: 1 1/2
cup of basil leaves, fresh: 3/4
cup of toasted pine nuts: 1/2
cup of Parmesan cheese, grated: 1/2
cloves of garlic, peeled and quartered: 4
teaspoon of kosher salt: 3/4
teaspoon of black pepper, freshly ground: 1/2
tablespoon of fresh lemon juice: 1
teaspoon of lemon zest: 1/2
cup of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: 1/2
How To Make Tangy Spinach-Basil Pesto
- In a food processor, blend the spinach leaves, basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.
- Blend until you have attained a smooth mixture.
- Scrape the sides of blender using a spatula to ensure that a homogenous mixture is formed.
- You can drizzle the remaining of olive oil while blending to ensure the pesto you achieve is smooth in consistency.
- To freeze, pour the pesto into an ice cube tray and it will be usable for as long as one year.
- For a shorter period, you can put the pesto in a jar and refrigerate for regular use.
- A small layer of olive oil on the top of your spinach basil pesto can preserve it more effectively as it won’t allow any air to pass through and spoil the pesto.
Trivia
- The word “pesto” is originated from the Genoese language which essentially means to ‘pound or to crush.’ It refers to the traditional method of making the sauce.
- The original recipe for pesto sauce entails usage of Edam cheese or Gouda, but now Parmesan cheese is the most commonly used cheese in the making of pesto.
- Spinach-basil pesto is just one of the many variations of pesto sauce.