Winter Pesto: A Great February Pick-Me-Up
I’d be amiss to call myself the Pesto-Mystic and NOT talk about pesto sooner rather than later! As both a green witch and a kitchen witch, pesto is one of my all-time favorite things to make – it’s easy, comes together in less than 10 minutes, and always tastes AH-MAZING, am I right, or am I right?!? Plus, in the middle of the Winter, eating green food feels like shoving a hint of Summer into my mouth and I am all over that!
Though basil owns my heart and soul, during the dreary Winter months here in Southern New England, I turn to baby spinach for my pesto needs. By mid-winter I am always starved for a good meal full of vegetables that don’t look like they should have been eaten two weeks ago and this meal does the trick. I pair the spinach with a hearty nut like walnut or almond, a nice salty cheese like feta, and a healthy dose of garlic but any and all of these are up for adaptations – all that a pesto truly needs is the leaves and the oil. Winter Pesto can easily be made vegan by omitting the cheese or nut-free though both are part of the peak pesto experience for me.
My partner and I can eat pesto for days and days so this recipe will make enough for 3-4 meals depending on how much you like to eat at a time. It can easily be halved or quartered but I promise, once you’ve tasted this – you’ll want more!
There are SO many things that you can do with this pesto! You can add it to some pasta after it has cooked (like all pestos – this is meant to be a raw/uncooked sauce – just throw it in with 1/2 cup of the pasta water right before serving). You can add it to cooked meat before you serve. It’s great on cheese and crackers. It tastes AMAZING on eggs of all varieties (putting it inside an omelet is one of the only ways that I’ll actually cook it). It tastes great on baked potatoes. It can be added as a topping to many types of soup – if you haven’t had a good minestrone with pesto on top, you’re missing out!
As far as the witching goes – this pesto is GREEN. I tend to go with the overall color association and make it for abundance, growth, or money drawing – depending on what I need at the time. The garlic (if used) can add an element of protection or purification, dealers choice. The healthy dose of iron and trace minerals that you’ll get from the spinach will make you feel GREAT which really makes you know it’s working.
Making pesto is super simple, a good food processor helps but isn’t necessary. If you do make it by hand, make sure to mince the spinach and finely chop the nuts if adding. I use a food processor to keep the consistency and emulsify the olive oil.
Ingredients
1-4 cloves of fresh garlic (based on size and your tastes)
1/4 cup hearty nuts (almonds or walnuts) – optional
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese – optional
3-4 tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Mince or finely chop (using a food processor simplifies this process) until all ingredients are uniform in size, combine with olive oil until well coated. Serve raw/uncooked.
Notes: Because feta is naturally salty, I do not salt this recipe – if omitting or using a lower salted cheese in its stead consider adding salt during the processing.
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