Spinach Pasta with Pesto
This is a quick and easy fresh pasta dinner that can be made in about 15 minutes. Its got so much spinach in it that it is practically a salad!
This is a quick pasta recipe that I found on Instagram. I like how easy the pasta is to make, but the best part is the bright, fresh pesto. I don't usually add lemon to my pesto, but in this dish, it brightens the sauce and balances the creamy pesto flavor.
Ingredients
Ingredients
150 grams of all-purpose flour
143 grams of baby spinach
You can use any dark leaf you like here. I like using the baby spinach and baby kale mix.
Pesto (Recipe Bellow)
Pesto
1/2 cup pine nuts
This can be substituted with any nut you like that is soft and oily, like walnuts.
3 cups loosely packed basil
I often use 1 part basil and 2 parts dark leafy greens; this helps make the pesto milder so you can eat more of it.
2 small garlic cloves
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
the zest of a small lemon
the juice of half a small lemon
Go easy with the lemon juice; you can always add more later.
1/3 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano
This is an estimate; you should add a bit, then adjust as you taste the pesto.
You can use Parmigiano Reggiano here, but I like the sharper flavor of the pecorino.salt and pepper to taste
Add pepper following your heart, then salt after tasting. The cheese adds a lot of salt, so taste it first.
Directions
Add the flour and spinach to a food processor and blend on medium for about 5 minutes. Stop every so often to scrape down the sides and ensure it is incorporating okay.
After the mixture comes together into a nice dough, turn it out onto a floured cutting board and pat it down into a disk about half an inch thick.
Bring a medium pot of water to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Salt it liberally.
While the water is boiling, mix up the pesto. Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend on high until smooth and homogenous. Add more oil to reach the correct consistency. Taste and adjust with salt and lemon juice.
When the water is boiling, pick up your disk of dough, and using kitchen shears, cut 1 inch long and 1/2 inch wide pieces into the water. Let them cook until they start floating to the top. (1-2 minutes)
Be careful not to splash water on yourself.
As the pasta cooks, add the pesto to a wide saute pan and heat over medium-low. When pasta is down, add to the sauce, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water to adjust the sauce.
Stir the pasta and sauce, and adjust the consistency using the reserved pasta water. Now is also a good time to make a final adjustment to the salt and lemon juice in the sauce.
Serve topped with freshly grated cheese and a basil leaf.