{pesto}

In honor of good old St. Patrick's Day and in lieu of the fact that I failed to wear green to work, I decided to make some spinach pesto with the big box of spinach that has been sitting in the fridge, dying to be used. I opted for a double batch so my spinach would not go to waste, and since I knew I could freeze it in ice cube trays for the future. It is really bright and refreshing, and especially delicious with some sun dried tomatoes in the mix. We once grilled some chorizo to serve on top, and was serious perfection. It wasn't so healthy by that point, but I am thinking of trying it with some fresh chicken sausage sometime soon.

Spinach Pesto {based upon this recipe}

2-3 big handfuls of spinach
1 1/2 garlic clove (I used 3 in my double batch)
1 big handful of almonds
1/3-1/2 c olive oil
1/3-1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

1. Throw the spinach, garlic, and almonds into your food processor (a good blender would work as well) and pulse until fine (you will probably need to scrape the sides down occasionally, especially when using a blender).
2. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto reaches your preferred consistency (hence the variation in amount of oil the may be used).
3. Add the salt, pepper, and Parmesan and pulse for just a few moments until blended. If you pulse the pesto with the cheese too long, you may produce some heat and melt your cheese, and that part should come later!

That's it! Toss a tablespoon at a time with pasta until pasta is just covered. I like to keep some hot pasta water on the side to add in just to moisten the pasta and achieve a good "sauce" (learned that from watching Giada).