Saturday, November 2, 2013

Perpetual Spinach Pesto...

I'm lucky enough to spend the day in town on a Friday with my 2 youngest children, Millie and Tobie. I use this day to run errands, post off orders for my Shop, catch up with family and friends, do my weekly shopping, attend swimming lessons with my kids, check out the local shops and just simply hang out.... 

I usually have a good 7 hours to spend in town on a Friday as I bring my eldest daughter in to attend the local Catholic school which she simply loves! As of last week I started volunteering a couple of hours of my time on a Friday morning to the School and its vegetable garden - I had a ball! I weeded and mulched and fertilized and planned, oh did I plan!! There currently isn't too much happening in the School Vegetable patch so it was great to get in there and help them out a little. I was lucky enough to be able to harvest some of their current, slightly over-grown, bounty which mainly consists of perpetual spinach (a gorgeous heirloom variety of small leafed spinach) which I in turn made into pesto to share....  

From 1 small bucket of leaves I made 3 jars of pesto - thanks to the help of my sister (who lives in town) and the use of her kitchen and a few of her pantry supplies... I am enjoying 1 jar, my sister is too as a thanks for her help and the Vice Principal and his wife are enjoying the last jar. Next week I'm hoping to make twice as much and maybe even more than that the following week. Our School Bazaar is on very soon and these jars of pesto will make for a great addition to a fund-raising stall - what do you think?? 

So, here's my recipe.....

Perpetual Spinach Pesto
pesto 1
Ingredients : : approx 3 large handfuls of Perpetual Spinach leaves. 2 cloves of Garlic. Olive Oil. Cashew Nuts. 2 Tablespoons of grated Parmesan Cheese. Salt and Pepper.

Method : : Wash (and spin almost dry in a food processor) all spinach leaves. Add the leaves to the food processor in batches until all are chopped and combined. Drizzle in approx 1/4 cup of good Olive Oil. Add 1/4 cups of Cashews and 2 cloves of Garlic (skin removed). Add grated Parmesan Cheese and blend to combine. Season with Salt and Pepper to taste.

Store in a jar in the fridge with a thin layer of olive oil on the top to prevent it from discolouring. 

I love this smeared on freshly toasted wedges of home-baked bread with slices of tomato. I also love it on crackers with a nice and sharp vintage cheddar. But tonight I'm enjoying my Perpetual Spinach Pesto with some gorgeous hand-made pasta (a purchase from a recent trip away)...
pesto 
To enjoy this pesto with pasta simply stir 1-2 tablespoons of it through cooked pasta with a drizzle of the water that you cooked your pasta in.
pesto 3 
Crumble over some cheese, I'm having vintage cheddar tonight because I have some on the go in the fridge at the moment, and season with pepper - now hook in!
pesto 4
So.....

Do you love pesto?? 

Have you made it before? 

What's your favourite kind???

10 comments:

  1. Basil pesto is my fav - very similar just replace spinach with basil and cashews with pine nuts. Love it!!!! Like your blue swirl serving bowl by the way. Do you take Millie and Tobie with you to town? What a luxury to be able to spend time like that helping your local school. We have a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program at our school and the children LOVE it. Very inspiring!

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    1. I love basil pesto too Christine... Thanks for the 'bowl' love - it's from a little shop at Bourke (Carol's of Bourke), they're on-line. I take all 3 kids to town with me on the Friday - they love it! The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Gardens are amazing - maybe one day we'll be there too... :)

      Thanks for popping by... xx

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  2. Don't think I have ever had pesto and need to try making some. I love spinach when it is raw, but the texture changes so drastically when cooked and so does the taste. Pesto would be another way of getting all those good nutrients.Thanks for sharing the recipe.
    Susanne :)

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    1. Try it Susanne - it's absolutely delicious!!!

      Thanks for popping by... xx

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  3. I've had basil pesto and although I love basil, I didn't care for it. But I've not made my own and I need to try that. Thanks for the recipe! It looks yummy and I never thought putting it on bread etc. How wonderful of you to volunteer like that.

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    1. Basil pesto is quite strong in flavour - this pesto have more of a mild asparagus flavour to it, very subtle...

      Take Care :)

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  4. I sometimes find basil pesto a bit overwhelming so this spinach variety sounds amazing.
    How wonderful that Connie gets to spend a day at school, I'm sure she has made some lovely friendships with the town children. x

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    1. Basil pesto is quite strong!! But this pesto has more of a mild asparagus flavour to it, very subtle...
      She has made some lovely friends Zara - and almost can't sleep every Thursday night with excitement for what the Friday in town at school will bring... Sweet..

      Thanks for popping by... :)

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