Have some spinach to use up? Spinach Pesto is a great way to use up too much Spinach.
I’m not sure how we ended up with so much spinach but we scored a huge tub at Costco and (2) HUGE bags from our CSA… and spinach doesn’t always keep that long.
Not to mention my neighbor gave me HER spinach from the CSA too – we were swimming in green!
So we threw together Pesto in a jiffy – and it pairs up super with the Pita Bread we made the other day. I will say… we didn’t toast the Pine Nuts – and it turned out just as good.
You can also substitute Walnuts if you don’t have Pine Nuts – though you can find Pine Nuts at Costco – a 1 1/2 lb. bag is $21 and it lasts a LONG time.
- 2 C. fresh Spinach leaves, well washed and stemmed
- 1/2 C. Fresh Parsley
- 1/2 C. Pine Nuts, toasted
- Optional: 1/4 C. Parmesan Cheese (grated fresh)
- 3 Garlic cloves
- 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/8 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
- Place all the ingredients into the food processor.
- Process to a fine paste.
- Taste -- adjust the salt/pepper if needed, and then transfer to a glass container and keep a thin layer of olive oil on the top to prevent discoloring.
We doubled this recipe to make use of all the spinach – and we opted to freeze half of the pesto for later ~ have you ever froze pesto? If not, here’s a great tutorial.
[…] as long of a trip to get to you (making it so much better, fresher, and longer lasting!) You can make Pesto with an overabundance of spinach (which is a great way to use up your spinach, […]