Summer days and evenings call for quick and easy light dishes that can be prepped and made in advance so you can optimize endless hours of sunshine and long lasting glasses of rose. This is as bright and gorgeous as this summer day – a simple Spinach Summer Pesto. Make it for sauces on pastas, roasted veggies, atop meatballs, a blazing dressing, or a healthy dip for grilled meats & crudite. With spinach, mint, and spring onions, this is a different kind of pesto that has a mellow and easy flavor that even kiddies like. My son literally inhaled when I mixed it over bow tie pastas and topped with a bit of cheese.
Summertime’s Best Pesto: Spinach, Spring Onion, and Mint Pesto
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Prep Time
Cook Time
Total
Servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 2 large lemons (juiced)
- 1/2 cup diced spring {green} onions or scallions (white and light green parts only)
- 1 Tbsp. high quality butter or olive oil
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2 Tbsp. fresh mint
- 2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
- Warm water, to thin out as desired
Let's go
- In a small sauté pan, heat butter or olive oil. Add in the diced green onions and allow to cook on low heat until softened, stirring every so often, for about 5-7 minutes.
- Once cooled, ddd into a small food processor.
- Add in the spinach, pine nuts, mint, parmesan cheese and lemon juice.
- Pulse until well combined. A
- Add in the olive oil and continue to mix until smooth, about 1 more minute.
- I like to thin out with a tsp. or so of water because it allows me to use less oil and the intensity of the pesto means water won’t mean jeopardizing taste. Add in more water if you want a looser consistency, like for a salad dressing or opt for no water if using for a dip for credit.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed, but I didn’t find I needed any addition seasoning.
Make and store in the refrigerator in an air tight container for 1 week.