Early Spring Pesto Pasta

I love pasta. It's true. I love trying new sauces for all the seasons, and new varieties of vegetables, or even having sweet and spicy marinara, and then a garlic-filled marinara sauce...maybe not in the same week. I made this recipe up quickly the other day because I was craving the summer variety of fresh basil pesto pasta. So.... without the amount of fresh basil on hand I blended some kale and spinach to try this early spring pesto pasta variety out for an experiment. It turned out delicious and was so green that I felt like it wasn't missing an ounce of vitamins and chlorophyll for sure. Perfect for adding to the spring cleanse menu. I made this dish along with some cooked salmon and light salad. It is also a great leftover for the next day's packed lunch. Once again, I love pasta. Living gluten-free is much easier because I can eat pasta that is filled with nutrients of fiber, whole grains, and even protein. So here is a simple pasta sauce to spring up your menu this week.

Blend:

1 8oz. bunch of kale

1 8oz. bunch of spinach

handful of fresh basil

6 cloves of garlic

1 ts. of sea salt

1 ts. of cracked black pepper

3 TB of agave nectar

1/3 cup of pine nuts

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 squeezed lemon

optional 1/4 cup of water to help it blend/process

After you blend the above ingredients in the blender (you may need to add 1/4 cup of water through your blender or food-processor to get it to start blending) , you can put it in a sauce pan and cook until it boils and simmer for 10 min. Add to your favorite gluten-free pasta variety. My favorite is Tinkyada that works great in all pasta recipes. I have a picture link on the left of the blog. I am sure you can kind it in your local health store.

I like to cook this recipe in bulk, so I make like 16 ounces of pasta and then start by pouring half of the pesto sauce over the pasta and see if it covers it fully, and then add more if it needs more flavor. Or then I save the rest of the pesto sauce in a glass container in the fridge or even freezer for future meals.

Make sure you add some pine nuts for topping before eating, and if you eat dairy a little Parmesan cheese would taste wonderful over this dish, but I don't eat dairy so I also recommend this pasta without it. It's fabulous!

Servings may vary on how much pasta you decide to make, but it for sure will make enough pesto sauce for about 8 servings. Enjoy!!!