Spinach Pesto Pasta
Pesto is a godsend food just like salsa, guacamole or hummus. It is so versatile, flavorful, fresh and healthy. In the present recipe, we put some zing in this Italian Gastronomy classic. Follow the lead, you will be surprised.
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The ingredients are given for 4 medium servings.
INGREDIENTS
For the pesto:
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1 cup of fresh cilantro
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½ cup of baby spinach leaves
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¾ cup of hemp hearts
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¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese
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4 garlic cloves
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¼ cup of fresh lemon juice
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Olive oil
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Salt
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Pepper
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Half a thai chili, de-seeded abd finely chopped
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For the pasta:
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300g of quinoa spaghetti
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Water
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Salt
When it comes to pesto, sky is the limit ! Mix in a favorful herb, with some creamy nuts, some acidic hard cheese and lime, oil, pepper and salt. Here is your pesto !
The traditional Pesto is made using basil genovese, pine nuts (a bit overpriced in North Americal), parmesan. Yum! Yum! Yum! :)
DIRECTIONS
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In a blender, add all the pesto ingredients (aside from olive oil, salt and pepper): cilantro, spinach, hemp hearts, parmesan cheese, garlic, lemon juice and thai chili. Blend until smooth.
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Then add some olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend until it becomes smooth. If needed add, some olive oil to enable the process. When smooth taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking (taking into account that the pesto will be used with non-salted and non-peppered ingredients). Put the pesto in a glass airtight jar until needed.
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Cook your pasta in a large pot filled with boiling water and a pinch of salt. Follow the instructions on the pasta package for the cooking time. When the pasta is finish, go ahead and strain them then rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking process (very important). Put them back in your saucepan along with 4 tablespoons of the pesto. Stir until all pasta is coated with pesto and the pasta becomes warm again. We toped ours wiht crushed chili flakes because Cavita loves her spices. Enjoy !