One year I grew about 30 basil plants from seed in my yard. Half were in the herb bed and the other half were in large container gardens. I had a LOT of pesto that year. It still wasn't enough pesto for someone who loves pesto as much as I do.
Today's pesto iteration includes a healthy serving of spinach, because as much as I like that too, it's hard to finish off a bag of spinach before even one leaf starts turning gross. I've learned over the years (and one horrific slimy bag that got lost in the back) to use it within one day of buying it. Mostly, it gets frozen, but sometimes it gets turned into this protein and K packed pesto that is useful in dozens of iterations, from pasta with red sauce to bell pepper risotto to purple sweet potato gnocchi from Salty Seattle.
Spinach Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 cup basil
- 2 cups spinach
- 4 cloves garlic
- ⅓ + ¼ cups raw almonds
- ⅔ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ⅔ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Blend all of the ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor.
- Immediately begin drizzling the olive oil in, and keep blending until fully combined.
Pesto keeps in the fridge, tightly covered, for about a week or two. If you really want to try and stretch it to two weeks, press plastic wrap over the top of the pesto, removing as much air as possible before putting a lid on the container it's in.
If you're also looking to grow prolific basil plants in large quantities, check out my Gardening & Plants Pinterest board, where I have a lot of pins with real life advice that I used to grow my many basil plants!