Spinach and Basil Pesto

Spinach, in combination with basil, makes a less intensely-flavored pesto sauce. Some may enjoy this milder flavor, whether served traditionally on pasta, or as a topping for potatoes or an offbeat dressing for potato salad, on grains, or as a garnish for soup.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups (enough for 10 to 12 ounces of pasta),

• 1/2 to 1 cup firmly packed basil leaves, to taste
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, or more, to taste
• 1 to 2 cloves garlic, crushed, optional
• 1/4 cup pine nuts or 1/2 cup walnut halves
  (or omit nuts if you’d like a less caloric pesto)
• 6 ounces baby spinach, rinsed and drained
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients except the salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse on and off until the mixture is a coarse, even puree. You may need to add the spinach in batches if your processor has a small or medium-sized container.

Stop the machine and season gently with salt and pepper; taste to see if you’d like to add more lemon juice. Serve at once — stir into hot cooked pasta or use as suggested above in the headnote.

• Explore more way to enjoy spinach.
• Here are lots more recipes for simple sauces and such.