Spinach-Basil Pesto
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ¼cup roughly chopped walnuts
- 4cups baby spinach leaves
- 2cups fresh basil
- 1teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½cup olive oil
- ¼cup grated rennet-free Parmesan cheese
Nutritional analysis per serving (32 servings)
41 calories; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 19 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread out the walnuts on a small rimmed baking sheet and roast in oven for about 12 minutes, giving them a shake after 6 minutes. Continue roasting until golden brown and toasted. Set aside and allow to cool thoroughly.
- Step 2
Fill a large stockpot three-quarters full with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl half way up with ice and water and set close to the sink.
- Step 3
Dump the spinach and basil into the boiling water and stir. After 1 minute, strain the greens, and plunge them into the bowl with ice water. Drain the greens again and squeeze them tightly to get as much water out as possible. Chop the greens roughly.
- Step 4
Combine the greens and walnuts with the salt, olive oil and Parmesan in a food processor and process until a smooth consistency is reached. Taste and season with additional salt, if desired.
Private Notes
Comments
I use a microwave to cook spinach. It does a really terrific job. I allow ±4 minutes for a big pile of spinach in a glass bowl, not covered. No water, no oil. For this recipe, after I'd processed all the spinach I gave the basil 45 seconds in the microwave and added it to the spinach, added some oil, sea salt and minced garlic and pureed everything. The result was terrific!
A tip to make like easier - don’t bother doing the boil/shock method for the greens only to have to spend forever squeezing them out. Just steam them you get so much less liquid and you don’t even have to shock them in the ice bath. It takes so much less time, effort and mess.
This has a more delicate flavor than regular pesto and I didn't think I would like it as much without the garlic but it's wonderful. Didn't cook the spinach or the basil, just dropped them into the food processor and blitzed them with olive oil before adding toasted nuts (some sliced almonds and chopped pecans because that's what I had on hand and basil waits for no one) and cheese. It's a gorgeous green color and almost tastes...buttery? Wonderful slathered on bread.
Added peas. Practically perfect!
Ran out of parmigiano so I subbed for nutritional yeast, and it became accidentally vegan. Also added lemon squeeze (1/4 of a very juicy lemon) and garlic, and it was delicious!
We found the ratio to be too much spinach. The blanching gives it a nice color, but with not enough basil and no garlic, this tasted like green sauce, not pesto.
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