We keep a potted basil plant in our garden that provides us with plenty of basil throughout the summer. The pesto freezes well, which makes for a quick meal idea. Makes enough pesto for a pound of pasta.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups baby spinach leaves
¾ cup fresh basil leaves
½ cup toasted pine nuts
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (substitute Vegan Parmesan Cheese to make it a vegan sauce)
4 cloves garlic
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon zest
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, scraping the sides as necessary.
Options
You can mix up the percentage of spinach an basil. In the heat of the summer, when the basil is growing fast, I will make this will all basil and no spinach.
You can also substitute walnuts for the pine nuts for a different taste.