SRC- Basil Spinach Pesto

                                      

Do you love basil? I've been wanting to make a basil pesto ever since I had a delicious gluten free pesto pasta dinner a few weeks ago at an Italian restaurant in Princeton, NJ. I've never made homemade pesto before, so I knew I would have to do some searching for a recipe. Luckily for me, my Secret Recipe Club partner for July,  Susan of Permanent Posies had a wonderful basil spinach pesto recipe on her blog. Once I saw that recipe , I looked no further.  What a great recipe, I couldn't wait to make it!

Pesto is a rich and flavorful paste that is fabulous in the summer when so many wonderful herbs are fresh and in full bloom.  I had plenty of basil growing in my yard, so this was a perfect recipe. Most farmer markets are selling basil in hearty bunches right now at very reasonable prices.

I try to focus on eating lots of greens, and this recipe has it's fair share:  a full cup each of  fresh parsley, basil, and spinach! It is truly green and fabulous and I like that all the greens in the recipe are raw which provide the greatest enzymes for better health! ! Actually, it's a great way to get kids to eat more healthy tasty greens too.

Permanent Posies had a recipe for a basic spinach basil pesto and also a creamed version. The creamed version was a little too rich for me, but it looked fabulous for any kind of pasta. Susan used it in her asparagus lasagna . 

I used my pesto as an appetizer and spread it on gluten free rice crackers and some Persian cucumber slices. My husband ate his pesto with some gluten free pasta.

Everyone raved about the fragrance of the fresh basil.  Yum!



Pesto Ingredients:
1 cup fresh  parsley
1 cup fresh basil
1 cup fresh spinach ( I used organic baby spinach)
1 cup of raw pecans or pine nuts ( I used pecans)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese ( leave out for a vegan dish)
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/4-1/2  cup olive oil ( don't cut back, the oil makes it)
salt to taste

Directions: 
Assemble ingredients
Process nuts and garlic, remove from processor and set aside.
Process, parsley, spinach, basil, then add nuts and garlic mixture, and olive oil.
Process until smooth .
Remove from processor and add a little more olive oil before serving  if its dry.

Susan, the pecans were a wonderful in this pesto!





             

Gluten Free Tip of the Week: 

If you live near Philadelphia there is a wonderful blog called Gluten Free Philly that blogs about restaurants, food, and events in the Delaware Valley. It is an invaluable source of information for gluten free in the Philadelphia plus area. This week they did a review of Atlantic City and all the Gluten Free options available in that area. I was happy to see that the Casino Harrahs has a gluten free menu in some of their restaurants and that a nearby restaurant in Ventnor, NJ, Hannah G's,  has a GF menu which includes blueberry pancakes. Here is Hannah G  gluten-free menu. In addition , there is a gluten free review of recent Road Trip to the Rehoboth Beach area . I

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