Last night I was in the mood to make pesto and use up leftovers! It was a spinach based pesto with just a little basil but it was fantastic and garlicky! I sautéed chicken, eggplant, and leeks in olive oil with some dry spices and then added the pesto on top. I had the eggplant leftover from eggplant parm and it was delicious sautéed, I never had it like that before! The leeks were a random purchase I made at Trader Joe’s (I love you TJ’s) and they worked well with the eggplant. I wanted to add pasta and forgot, but it would’ve really completed the dish. The pesto turned out awesome so I am sharing the recipe below. Disclaimer: pesto is something that should be made to taste… some people like more lemon, some like more garlic, so don’t be afraid to make it your own!!
Ingredients:
½ cup walnuts (you could use pine nuts as well)
*Note: I toasted my walnuts first on the stovetop, just 1-2 minutes on medium heat (optional- raw works just fine)
2-4 cloves garlic
2 TBSP basil
4 oz spinach
½ cup olive oil
1-3 TBSP lemon juice
¼- ½ cup parmesan (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Basically you just blend everything together. You can ground the walnuts first and then add spinach and liquids. I had to take the lid off a few times and poke around at the ingredients to get everything to blend thoroughly, but it only took a few minutes.
Have you ever made pesto before?? Do you use spinach too, or just basil?? Do you like more garlic or lemon?? Any tips or tricks for blending???