Spinach Basil Pesto

Spinach and basil make a wonderful combination for pesto, and pesto is so easy to make. I love it because it adds an interesting taste to whatever you make. I made some the other day, and I've been eating homemade fresh spinach basil pesto on just about everything . I've eaten it tossed in pasta, spaghetti squash, tossed in salad, stuffed in raw button mushrooms, spread on crackers, etc.

I love the flavor and the fragrance of the summer basil that I clip from one of my herb pots that is growing my deck. I used the green basil for this recipe, but there are many varieties of basil. I grow three different types: Thai Basil, green basil, and purple basil. Each has it's own unique taste and each adds an interesting kick to my recipes. This is basil season and you can grow it all summer in a container.

Basil is very easy to grow. I bought a few small plants from Whole Foods (or a local farm store) and divided them into a few containers ( there is still time for you to do this) . I remove the plastic pot that the basil comes in, break up the ball of soil a little and replant the basil plant in a pot twice the size than the one it came in and one that has good drainage ( you can add gravel if you have to for better drainage).The basil will grow all summer as long as you keep clipping it and don't let the plants begin to flower and go to seed. If you have space to plant your basil plants in the ground that works just as well.

3 Tips You Need To Remember When Growing Basil:

Basil likes sunlight

Basil likes water

Basil likes to be well drained

Once your basil is growing, you can clip it to add to daily salads, morning omelettes, hot or cold soups, caprese salads ( basil and mozzarella cheese). Fresh basil tastes amazing! And fresh herbs are potently rich in immune building antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

This delicious combination of spinach and basil is easy to make in minutes in the food processor and provides lots of greens to boost your chlorophyll intake which helps to naturally cleanse your system. What a great pesto !

I forgot to take photos of the step by step process:

Directions

Add the greens to the food processor and begin to process , then as the processor is running add the nuts, pepper and garlic. As it begins to form a paste add olive oil while the processor is running until pesto is smooth. In this recipe, the oil is a must.

Tips:

I store my pesto in a covered container for 3 or 4 days.

If your pesto drys out, add a little oil to it ( mine never does)

For variety, try making pesto each time with a different nut. It totally changes the flavor. I like the flavor of all three. Pine nuts and pecans are fairly expensive, so I've been sticking to raw walnuts (raw walnuts are cracked right out of the shell type -as opposed to roasted walnuts- the raw variety works best in pesto)

I think the pesto tastes really good with or without the garlic- depends on my mood

I buy a wedge of imported Pecorino Cheeese ( mine says Pecorino Roman " Fulvi" from the mountains of Italy and it's from grass fed cows with no hormones.) It comes in a HUGE barrel size hunk of cheese and the store cuts and wraps in the store in 1/2 pound pieces. It is outrageously delicious in pesto.

Add pesto to omelettes, top a little of gf pizza, on gf bread with cheese

Antioxidants: Herbs like oregano, rosemary, thyme, parsley, cilantro, and basil have provide excellent health giving properties and have been depended on for thousands of years to add powerful antioxidants to to people's food..Check out the Other herbs that I grow and some tasty recipes

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