Pesto Two Ways

A couple weeks ago I picked the last remaining basil from my garden before it died and decided to make pesto. What I like to do when I don't have enough basil or parsley is to add spinach. It's a great way to add iron and more nutrients to your meal. Since there is usually frozen spinach in the house I simply defrost it and add it to the blender along with ingredients like onion, garlic, lemon, basil, parsley, walnuts, and olive oil.

Pesto keeps in the fridge for about a week and for months frozen so its great for a quick week night dinner. Here I tossed it with a brown rice pasta and tomatoes.

But if your carb conscious or not feeling like pasta here is another great way to use pesto. I got the idea for this at a new restaurant in Philly called Barbuzzo. Two women who own this restaurant own a couple awesome restaurants on 13th street like Lolita and Bindi and several cute shops. While dining at Barbuzzo we ordered a this beet salad that came piled high with orange slices, roasted beets, goat cheese, and kale with a pistachio pesto. For this rendition I obviously left out the goat cheese to make it vegan. I also used green leaf lettuce chopped finely in place of kale.

First I took the beets with their skins and placed them in a baking dish with a splash of water and vinegar and roasted them until tender. Once slightly cooled rub the beets between a paper towel to remove the skins without dying your hands purple.

For the pesto I combined pistachios, parsley, onion, salt and pepper, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil in my food processor until combined. I added a bit more lemon juice and olive oil so the pesto was a little bit thinner and could act as a dressing. After chopping the lettuce I tossed some pistachio pesto with the lettuce and topped it with the roasted beets, orange slices, and some whole pistachios. A delicious salad for lunch or a light dinner.