Simple Basil Spinach Pesto Recipes

SPINACH-BASIL PESTO

Steps:

• Place garlic in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. Add spinach, basil and walnuts. Pulse until chopped. Add cheese, salt and pepper. Continue processing while gradually adding oil in a steady stream. Freeze option: Freeze pesto in freezer containers. To use, thaw in refrigerator.

SPINACH-BASIL PESTO

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

SPINACH BASIL PESTO

Steps:

• 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.

SPINACH PESTO

Steps:

• In the food processor put in the spinach,lemon zest, lemon juice,garlic,olive oil,salt,pepper and cheese (sundried tomatoes). Process til spinach is small and everything is well combined.
• Meanwhile boil pasta til Al Dente.
• Pour Pesto mixture into large Pasta bowl and toss in hot pasta to coat and 1 or 2 tbs of pasta water if needed.
• Serve immediately with chicken or eat alone.
• Enjoy.

SPINACH-BASIL PESTO

Steps:

• Rinse the spinach leaves a few times until they have no sand left on them, and put them into a colander or strainer. Add the basil leaves and pour boiling water over them, making sure that they all get covered. Immediately submerge the spinach and basil in cold water. Once cool, squeeze the leaves to extract as much water as possible.
• In a food processor, combine all the ingredients and process until it becomes a smooth paste. Season generously with salt and pepper. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

BASIL, SPINACH AND ARUGULA PESTO

Steps:

• For the garlic confit. Heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a small pan over low heat until warm. Add garlic cloves and cook until very soft, about 30 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the garlic cloves, reserving both cloves and oil.
• For the pesto: Have a large bowl of ice water ready. In a small pot over high heat, bring 4 cups of water to a boil, and blanch basil or chervil until tender, about 30 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon and transfer to ice water. Place spinach and arugula in boiling water until bright green and tender, about a minute. Drain well and transfer to ice water. When greens are well chilled, drain well, place in a kitchen towel, and squeeze as hard as possible to remove excess moisture.
• In a blender, combine half the garlic cloves, half of the garlic cooking oil, half of the blanched greens (basil or chervil, spinach, and arugula), half of the hazelnuts and half of the ricotta salata. Blend five minutes.
• Add the remaining garlic cloves, garlic cooking oil, blanched greens, hazelnuts and ricotta salata. Blend, adding 1/4 cup additional olive oil, or more as needed, for two to five minutes, to make a thick but pourable pesto. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Blend one minute more. If desired, serve over hot linguini or other pasta.

SPINACH & BASIL PESTO

Steps:

• Combine spinach, basil, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds.
• With the machine running, add olive oil. Process until mixture is creamy. This may need to be done in batches.
• Transfer to a glass bowl. Stir in cheese, salt, and pepper.