Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto

Name: Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto
Yield: makes 1 cup; serves 4 over 12 ounces of pasta as a main course
Ingredients: 2 cup (tightly packed) baby spinach leaves (about 2 ounces); 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (see page 70); 1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (from about 1 lemon); 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon); 1/3 cup olive oil; 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese; 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

December 9, 2011

In the past few years, Americans have been treated to a dazzling array of new convenience food; the supermarket aisles are lined with items you can eat right now! I’m not a big fan of most of these. But I am a big fan of prewashed, pretrimmed greens, like the bags of baby spinach that are almost universally available. Cleaning fresh spinach is no treat: The bunches are filled with sand and grit, requiring multiple changes of water to remove; and it’s time-consuming to separate the fibrous stalks from the tender leaves. But these bags of baby spinach, on the other hand, are ready to go: Tear open the bag, dump the greens into a salad bowl, and they’re ready to dress. Or just toss into the sauté pan with a little olive oil and garlic, and you can be eating bright, fresh spinach in mere seconds. Or throw into the blender with some other ingredients—and bingo! Pesto!

Cooks' Note

This is great with grilled chicken.

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