Monday, April 15, 2013

Eat your greens: pesto pasta

My kids have never been the best raw veggie eaters.  We're working on it.  Until they start eating their salad, broccoli and green beans (I'm not giving up!), I have to be more creative with how I prepare and serve veggies, especially green ones, because those are scary.  Pesto pasta is one place we have succeeded.


I have found that it doesn't matter what kind of green I use for the base... I've used basil (in the summer when we have a lot), cilantro, parsley, spinach, even a spring greens mix.  Every batch I make is a little different, I just use whatever we have on hand.  I don't normally measure things out, but here's the basic recipe, you can change it to suit your taste:

Pesto Pasta

Ingredients
1 lb favorite pasta
4-8 cups greens (basil, cilantro, parsley, spinach or other greens)
1 cup nuts (pine nuts, cashews, peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, pecans, etc. or a combination)
1/3+ cup olive oil
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt

Directions
Cook pasta until al dente.  While pasta is cooking, place remaining ingredients in a food processor.


I normally fill the food processor almost to the top with greens.  I was just running low.


Pulse until smooth.  Add more olive oil if needed.


When pasta has finished cooking, save a couple cups of the water and drain the rest.


Toss the pasta, pesto sauce and about 1 cup pasta water (plus or minus... add more water if the pesto isn't mixing well.)  Then serve!  I hope your kids (and you) like it as much as we do.

4 comments:

  1. I will have to see if Abby will go for it! Looks yummY ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I’ve been making my own pesto for years but never tried to use it like in this recipe.So glad I found this practical one.

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