Pesto Pasta with Peas & Spinach

One of the things I like most about pesto is that there are no rules. It is one of the most versatile sauces around. If you don’t have basil, no problem, you can work with almost any green. I have made pesto with arugula, kale, and even avocado. You can also use any nut you have around. We have used walnuts, almonds, and cashews. You can put pesto over pasta, toast, any veggie, and even on salads and it tastes great.

This pesto was made with parsley, mint, spinach, almonds, garlic, olive oil, and a touch of avocado oil just in case you are low on olive oil). 😉😂 We put it on top of gluten free pasta and added some frozen peas and fresh spinach. Absolutely delicious! 

Please keep in mind these are approximate measurements. We know our taste so we adjust accordingly.

1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh mint

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 cups ripped fresh spinach

3/4 cup almonds

5 garlic cloves

olive oil

avocado oil

salt & black pepper

Put mint, parsley, spinach, almonds, and garlic into the food processor. Pulse until it almost forms a paste. You can leave it with more or less chunks depending on your taste. Once you have a paste add olive oil until the pesto gets creamier. If you run out of olive oil (like we did) you can also add some avocado oil to finish. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put pesto over your favorite pasta (we used gluten free). Add any veggies you like. We added peas to the pasta cooking water for the last minute. Add pesto to a cast iron pan and heat until warm, add in the pasta, peas, and fresh spinach and cook for about 1 minute or until spinach just barely wilts. Serve immediately.