Spinach Pesto

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This spinach pesto is quickly becoming my favorite pesto. I use pesto a lot on my tempeh, chicken, fish, sweet potato, salad and as a spread. You can also use the spinach in so many other dishes like pizza, pasta, hummus and really almost anything. Unlike the traditional low-carb Meditteranean basil pesto, this spinach pesto keeps its beautiful green color and last well in the fridge for a week and even more. The pesto, in general, is a great low-carb Meditteranean recipe that is very versatile, easy to make and very healthy.

When searching for spinach pesto recipes online I found only recipes with raw spinach. Raw spinach contains oxalic acid. The oxalic acid is an organic substance that can interfere with the absorption of essential nutrients like calcium or iron. A long term consumption of oxalic acid contributes to nutrients deficiency. The good news is that the oxalic acid breaks down when heating the spinach. I steam the spinach before to break down the acid and still keep all the nutrients.

Yes, There are also benefits for consuming raw spinach over steam spinach which I will not specify here but I prefer to eliminate the oxalic acid from my pesto.

Preparation

It’s super easy to make this pesto. The first step is to steam the spinach. This is not mandatory and will not affect the taste of the pesto. Steam the spinach for about 3 min in a steamer. After steamed, dry the leaves and add it to the blender with parsley and walnuts or pine nuts. I stopped using pinenuts just because I can’t find local ones only imported from China. Blend together and then add salt, pepper, parmesan, and the garlic. Pulse everything together and then add the olive oil a little bit at the time until it becomes one beautiful pesto sauce. Taste and if ready you can eat immediately or cool in the fridge.