Spinach Pesto Pasta
We’re kicking off the spring here at our farm with as many fresh produce recipes as possible. I’m highlighting spinach at the moment because it’s abundant, very nutritious, and available in most areas of the country this time of the year.
This spinach pesto pasta is delicious. In all of my years as a farmer and a cook I am surprised to say I’ve never made a spinach pesto. I’ve made pesto with just about every other green vegetable but not spinach! This was extra fun for me because it was new and both of my kids got to help make it. Not only that, but despite the sauce being bright green, once it was tossed with pasta noddles and sausage my kids devoured it!
Recipes like this are fun to prepare with my kids because I just pre-measure the ingredients and the girls toss everything into the food processor and press the button and watch it all whirl away until smooth. They think the food processor is magic!
If you’re hesitant to make this for your kids because they detest green food, I hope you still give this a try. In my experience, if a “scary food” (spinach) is served with a “safe food” (pasta) there is a high chance of it being accepted.
I hope you and your family enjoy this fresh, nourishing and high protein meal as much as we did!
Spinach Pesto Pasta
PREP TIME: 15 minutes COOK TIME: 20 minutes SERVES: 6
Pesto:
1/3 cup walnuts or pine nuts
1 large clove of garlic, peeled
3 cups packed fresh spinach
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil + more to thin as needed
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
2 Tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
fat pinch of salt
Pasta:
1 pound Italian Herb Sausage (or any kind you like!)
8 ounces pasta of choice (we used a chickpea pasta for added protein)
freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving
Preparation
Prepare the pesto by combining all the ingredients in a food processor and processing until smooth. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.
Cook the sausage in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat until cooked through. Use a wooded spoon to break the meat up a bit.
Cook the pasta in a pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain the pasta and then toss with half of pesto and the sausage. Add more pesto to taste and serving with extra parmesan cheese and salt and pepper.
