Summertime Pesto

Nothing says summer like fresh basil in the garden. My basil is just starting to come to fruition and I should have a LOT of it very soon. Of course the best thing for basil is fresh pesto. I love it on simple pasta with nothing else. Tonight I was looking for a quick meal and penne with pesto was just the thing to satisfy me. I threw in some fresh spinach too. I don’t usually do this but tonight I wanted a more hearty green pesto full of nutritious greens. My only problem this evening is that I ran out of parmigiano reggiano. I know – sacrilege! But it happened. The pesto was good but it just wasn’t quite right without it. For this pesto I used a couple heaping handfuls of fresh picked basil, a handful of fresh baby spinach leaves, 3 cloves of garlic, the juice of half a lemon, a half cup of walnuts (pine nuts are also traditionally used), salt, pepper, and olive oil – maybe 3 tablespoons. I threw it all in the blender except for the olive oil which was drizzled in until the consistency was just right. This was simply poured over the hot cooked pasta and it was mixed up and enjoyed! Ah, Pesto!