Spinach Pesto made from fresh spinach leaves is so flavorful and can be used as a dip, a spread or just as an accompaniment to any food!
Some weeks ago my spinach patch at home was flourishing and yielding about 2-3 kg of spinach a week and that led to the making of this spinach pesto!
There was spinach rice, palak chicken, dal palak, palak paranthas, baked spinach balls, palak chutney, palak dhokla, and of course, salads. Essentially, every meal had palak in it. Three kilograms of spinach a week for about 4 people is a lot of palak. Here is a picture for you to get the idea of the harvest, even though the container is not worthy of being on the blog!
I came up with the idea of making this spinach pesto. It can be used in sandwiches or pastas. Or it can be used in roti rolls or as a dip. This spinach pesto is flavorful and full of goodness. Having a home kitchen garden has loads of advantages. I am convinced that my food tastes much better when I pluck fresh vegetables or herbs from the garden and use them to make food. This makes me a big fan of having a kitchen garden. And I am lucky that in a city like Bangalore, I have the luxury of having my own small space to grow vegetables.
And the best part is that I know what exactly it going to into the soil to grow these vegetables. Fresh organic manure means that my vegetables are pesticide free and healthy.
Anyway, coming back to this spinach pesto. It is a really easy recipe. It works best with fresh spinach leaves and ricotta cheese. If you are buying the spinach then ensure you wash it really well. Super easy to make and definitely an awesome addition to your collection of dip recipes.
Garden to Plate : Spinach Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups spinach leaves (baby preferred)
- 1/4 cup Walnuts toasted
- 4 - 5 pods garlic
- 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon juice
- 1 lemon zest
- 1 tsp pepper
- to taste salt
Instructions
- Wash spinach leaves in running water thoroughly. If my spinach is store bought, I typically soak my store-bought spinach in vinegar and salt water for about 10 minutes and rinse in it running water.
- Grind together all the ingredients of pesto adding olive oil little by little till smooth.
- Store in a dry air tight container in fridge for about a week. Can be frozen up to a month.
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