Hi there everyone!

I thought I'd share this recipe for one of the most delicious, easy to prepare basil pesto recipes. It's one of my absolute favourites, and is perfect for my Pesto Pasta recipe.

Having a basic, reliable pesto recipe is definitely a must-have. This recipe plays a twist on the classic sauce by using almonds instead of pine nuts, and substituting a portion of the basil leaves with baby spinach. The reason for this substitution was not for any reason other than the fact that the basil plants I had growing outside just did not have enough leaves to make a good batch of pesto. I opened the fridge and found a nice bag of baby spinach, and made a plan from there. The end result was a milder than normal, but still delicious, pesto. One thing that I hope to inspire all of you to do in the kitchen is to improvise where you can with ingredients that you have, are in season, and are more nutritious than the norm!

Before you start, here’s a few good tips:

1. You can make a batch of pesto and use it at a later stage (bonus!). If you want to freeze it, leave the cheese out of the recipe, fill each space in an ice cube tray with pesto and freeze it. Once frozen, remove from the ice tray and store the pesto in a freezer bag. When you’re ready to use some of the pesto, defrost it and mix in some grated Parmesan cheese 🙂 Easy peasy!
2. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
3. Pesto oxidises and darkens if it is exposed to air. To prevent this from happening cover the pesto with plastic wrap, ensuring that it touches the pesto (even inside an airtight container).

Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups basil leaves
1 cup baby spinach
1/4 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 lemon, juice and zest
20 g Parmesan, grated
Salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Place the basil leaves, baby spinach, garlic clove, almonds, and extra virgin olive oil into a blender (I use my NutriBullet, it works like a charm).
2. Blitz until all of the ingredients are chopped up and mixed well. Scrape down the sides of the blender if necessary to incorporate all of the ingredients. Just a note here for students who may live in res, or others who just don't have a standing blender, a hand blender will also do a great job of this, you might just need some extra olive oil or some water to assist you. Just make sure to use a bowl or jug with high sides to prevent green stuff from flying all over the place 🙂
3. Add the lemon juice and zest, Parmesan cheese, 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Blitz until incorporated.
4. Taste the pepper and adjust the salt and pepper to suit your taste.

Original post can be found on my blog Taste & See!

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