Are you looking for a healthy pasta sauce? Then you are in a right place my friend. This Homemade Spinach Pesto taste better than store-bought and very easy to make too. I wished I had done this before. Well, in fairness to me, I did not even know what Pesto is until I met a friend who loves Pesto, not to mention my brother loves it to. I did no find it appealing at first, so I was hesitant to try it. I am used to tomato or creamy based pasta sauce, so this green sauce is kind of alien to me.

Being me, I like to try different kind of food, and so I gave it a try, and I love it! I love it specially with sautéed chicken breast or shrimp with lots of sun dried tomatoes and chilli flakes. Actually, that is the reason why I made this Spinach Pesto. I am planning to make my Sundried Tomato and Chicken Pesto pasta. Yum! Sounds good huh? I’ll be posting it soon, and that would be my first post for my Spicy section in my blog.

It’s about time a start sharing with you my savory and kind of spicy dishes. After all, this is the very reason why I have my blog named as Sweet & Spicy. So this Spinach Pesto will play a role in my Spicy section launch. I know that you could easily buy pesto in grocery, but trust me, there is nothing better than homemade pesto. You get to adjust the consistency and taste, either regular, mild or spicy. I  like mine extra spicy so I used different kind of peppers, but feel free to adjust this recipe according to your taste. This is not a very strict recipe, you could play with the ingredients to your taste. Let`s ge started!

Ingredients:

• 5 oz, 142g Fresh Spinach (approximately 2 cups)
• 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp chili flakes – optional
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 clove pealed garlic (you can add more if you like strong garlic flavor)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3 tbsp chopped walnuts or pine nuts

This is a very flexible recipe, you can easily adjust it to make a bigger batch and using more spinach. The add the oil gradually so that you get to control the consistency then add more or less cheese and nuts as desired.

Instructions:

1. Add 4 cups of water to a pan and bring to boil. Add spinach and stir until all spinach are submerge and cooked, about 15 seconds. Remove from heat and pour cold water to stop from cooking. Squeeze the spinach to remove excess water. Remove as much water as possible. This step will help the pesto retain its color and not turn dark.
2. Combine all ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
   • If you prefer, add more extra virgin olive oil for a thinner consistency. The consistency of this recipe is a little bit thick.
   • If you are using a blender, put the oil first, this will help the ingredients to move easily. Scrape the sides from time to time until everything is mix.
3. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
4. Transfer to a jar with a lid or any air tight container. Pour on top the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil.
5. Keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Enjoy! If you make this, share and tag me in Instagram #SweetNSpicyLiving. I would like to see your creations too.

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