The opening of our local farmers market happened this past week and I’m super excited. The market has come a long way since we first moved here. At one point it was a few vendors, but now there is enough variety to get produce, olive oil, sauces, breads, baked goods, honey, wine and much more that make you feel good about buying local. This time of year the produce is pretty slim and things are just getting started. I was able to pick up some spinach from Flying Plow Farms, honey, flowers from Belvedere Farms and chicken sausage from Granova Poultry and some bread from the Breadery.
I bought the spinach and the bread to replicate my lunch I had at Coffee Coffee this week. Spinach Pesto Toast. Avocado Toast is all the rage and pops up everywhere. Since I hate avocados I want nothing to do with it, but I was all over this creation. It was so good I had to make it at home.
Making pesto is really easy. You just get your ingredients together and puree it up in a food processor. Most pesto is basil based, but spinach is a great substitute and gives a more mild flavor than the basil. For my pesto I used 3 cups of fresh spinach and a half cup of basil. Cheese, garlic, nuts and olive oil round out a pesto. You want to make sure you toast your nuts in a dry pan to bring out the flavor.
Put everything in your food processor with a little bit of the oil. Start pulverizing. As the mixture comes together, add the rest of the olive oil through the feed tube.
Take the pesto and store it in a jar and pour a tiny bit of olive oil on top to keep it green and vibrant. It will last in the fridge for about 5 days or you can store it in the freezer for months.
To replicate the spinach pesto toast I had, I cut a thin slice of the sourdough bread I bought and lightly toasted it. I spread a tablespoon or so of the pesto on the toast, sprinkled with about a half ounce of crumbled goat cheese and a few slivered almonds.
Spinach Pesto
Ingredients
-
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 cups fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 cup pine nuts, toasted
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
-
Put spinach, garlic, basil, cheese, pine nuts and salt/pepper and a bit of the oil into a food processor.
-
Process until blended.
-
Add remaining oil through the feed tube of the food processor.
-
Add a bit of oil to the top of the jar to keep it fresh while storing.
-
Store in fridge for about a week or months in the freezer.
Moscato & Macarons 