Baby Spinach and Basil Pesto
Pesto is a perfect light sauce for pasta but it can also be used as a dip. This recipe freezes well. If you freeze it in small portions it makes it very convenient for individual plates of pasta.
Ingredients
Serves: 24
- 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup (90g) toasted pine nuts
- 1/2 cup (60g) grated parmesan cheese
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 cup (125ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Preparation:20min ›
Ready in:20min
- Blend the spinach, basil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a food processor until nearly smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary. Drizzle the remaining olive oil into the mixture while processing until smooth.
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Reviews and Ratings
Global Ratings:
(504)
Reviews in English (350)
How delicious! I have never made pesto sauce before, so this was my first attempt and it was exquisite! Finding at the last minute that I did not have pine nuts, I looked up on the internet to find a suitable substitute, and finding almonds were appropriate (and I had them) I used almonds. They cut up beautifully in the food processor and I have some left over which I am going to freeze for another treat some summer evening! I highly recommend it! - 11 Aug 2009 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
This was fantastic! This was my first attempt at homemade pesto, and I will never be buying that nasty stuff in jar again. It is so fresh and all the flavors come together beautifully. I used 3 cloves of garlic because of previous reviews, but I don't think the extra clove would have been too much. I guess it depends on the strength of your garlic. I also used fresh parmesan, which I think is crucial to the taste of the pesto. I served it with gnocchi and shrimp. I don't have ice cube trays, so I divided the leftovers into little pesto "cookies" on waxed paper, put them in the freezer and then wrapped the frozen pesto in plastic wrap and then put them in a freezer bag. - 10 Mar 2010 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
really easy and yummy - substituted frozen spinach and basil and still turned out great! - 09 Oct 2009 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)