This is one of those love it or hate it recipes. If you really love garlic, pasta, and basil, this recipe will make you crave more. It was developed originally as my attempt at Green Goddess Dressing. Failing miserably, I simply tossed it on pasta and served it up one night. I got rave reviews from my spinach-HATING family –along with the question, “How did you make it so green?” I refused to tell them and instead said it was my secret pesto recipe.
It will NOT work with cooked, frozen or canned spinach, only with fresh, crisp, sweet and flavorless baby spinach greens. (Although I once made it with a baby greens mix with interestingly tasty results.) You can substitute garlic powder and dried basil, if those are out of season, but this recipe is at its best with all ingredients fresh picked and raw. Toss it over freshly grilled veggies, spaghetti squash, fresh pasta, leftover pasta, even potatoes or gnocchi (potato pasta). I’ve even mixed it into cucumber, tomato salads, or potato salads. Feel free to adjust the measurements according to taste, or add sour cream or mayo for dipping sauces or sandwich spreads.
You Will Need:
- 4 to 6 cups baby spinach leaves
- 2 large cloves peeled garlic
- 1/2 cup cleaned onion (eyeball it)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup or more raw basil leaves
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon gray or pink sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 cup water
What to Do:
- Wash, peel, soak, drain, and generally clean all ingredients before starting. no need to chop or dice anything, but the garlic does work better if crushed open using the side of a knife blade, and it makes peeling them easier too.
- Toss all ingredients into a blender except spinach and basil. Puree until smooth.
- Gently pulse in spinach and basil until minced, adding water as necessary to facilitate blending into a sauce, it should be thicker than gravy and a bit lumpy.
And that’s it, it lasts in the fridge a day or two. But trust me, it wont, because its too delicious to leave alone. Toss it in with your favorite pasta, sides, or hot or cold dish, as is, no cooking necessary. In fact, if you heat the sauce, it gets an off flavor from the cooking of the spinach, but when tossed in noodles after cooking and draining them, its at its sweet peak of flavor. To make the sauce a bit sweeter, prewash and then presoak the spinach and basil in a bowl of cold water infused with a bit of apple cider vinegar, allow them to rest about an hour before draining fully and using them.
This post is one of the Eating Garden Fresh series, where we bring you delicious, simple ways to enjoy garden fresh produce.
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