Homemade Basil and Spinach Pesto
Basil and Spinach Pesto served with pasta is wholesome, nutritious and tasty! It requires limited cooking time, so is great if like me you have an energetic toddler, or may be work commitments limit your time in the kitchen. This recipe is a homemade spin on a classic dinner; tasty and easy!
Equipment
- 1 Food Blender
- Kitchen Utensils
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Measuring Scales
- 1 Bowl You will require a microwave safe bowl if you are using frozen spinach!
- 1 Sift To drain Pasta!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 25 g Basil Leaves
- 40 g Cheddar Cheese
- 1 1/2 tsp Garlic Paste Or two cloves of Garlic
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- 80 g Frozen Spinach
- Pepper Add Pepper to taste!
Instructions
- To start, pull the leaves off your basil plant(I tend to tear into smaller pieces) and place them into a food blender.
- Next add the olive oil and cheese (broken up into smaller pieces) to this.
- Measure the frozen spinach and place in a microwave safe dish to defrost (If you are using fresh spinach, measure and tear the leaves and add to the food blender.).
- Once defrosted, add the spinach to the blender before adding garlic and lemon juice.
- Add pepper to taste, before whizzing all the ingredients together until everything is blended, and you have a smooth paste.
- If you are serving the pesto with pasta, drain the cooked pasta, and use the saucepan to gently heat the Pesto before mixing together.
- We Serve our Pesto pasta with a balsamic glaze, the perfect finishing touch to a fresh healthy dinner!
Notes
Storage: Pesto is great because you can make it ahead of time, and store in both the fridge and freezer!
-Refrigerate: Store the pesto in the fridge for up to four days in an airtight container.
-Freezer: You can also store pesto for six months in the freezer, the easiest way being in an ice cube tray and then transferring into a freezer bag.
I hope your family enjoys this tasty recipe, as much as ours does!