Pasta with homemade Spinach Pesto

There are days when you really don't have any energy left or nothing motivates you to cook. Yesterday was one of those days for me. But I had a bag of spinach that I desperately wanted to finish and decided to make this simple pasta dish with homemade pesto sauce. I have to tell you that it was so flavorful that my kids were licking their plates clean.

Making Pesto sauce is very simple and you can alter the recipe with ingredients that you like. The measurements also depend on individual taste. I love to taste the pesto as I add the ingredients and process it in the food processor. I would say it is like making chutneys or any other condiments.

INGREDIENTS:

Spinach - 2 cups

Garlic cloves - 4-5

Pine nuts - handful

Grated Parmesan cheese - 1/3 to 1/4 cup

Olive oil - 1/2 cup or more

Salt to taste

PREPARATION:

Wash and drain the spinach leaves, put them in the food processor, and pulse it a few times. Now add the remaining ingredients to it and puree them. Keep adding the olive oil while pureeing, so that everything gets pureed well. Mix this with your favorite pasta. Store the remaining Pesto sauce in an air tight container. Remember to add more olive oil before storing. There should be a layer of olive oil above the pesto sauce. If not, the Pesto will loose its green color.

MIXING THE PASTA:

Choose any pasta that you like and cook them in boiling hot water till they are al dente. Drain them and keep them aside. Since this is a simple pasta dish I have added some more flavors to it. 

Heat the sauce pan on medium flame. Add the oil from a can of anchovies. Also add 3-4 anchovies and allow it to dissolve in the oil. If you are not an anchovy fan, just add olive oil.  Add some red crushed pepper flakes and some capers. Add the drained pasta to it and mix it well. You can even add some lemon butter sauce or just a little bit of cream to the pasta to give it more flavor and creaminess. 

Now switch of the flame, add the pesto sauce, and mix it well to incorporate everything.

Bon Appetit!