Going Green

Tonight's meal was brought to you by the color green!

My favorite summer meals always begin with a trip to the garden and tonight's trip was particularly inspiring because there were so many herbs to snip.

Deb's Green Pasta
3 cups baby spinach leaves
2-3 cups Genovese basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped chives
Snippets of whatever else you have in the garden.
(Tonight it was cilantro, thyme, parsley, Thai basil and oregano.
Use sparingly so they don't over power the taste of the basil.)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbs lite cream cheese (tonight I used chive and onion flavor)
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup toasted walnut halves
Salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor combine garlic and walnuts and process until coarsely ground. Add in green herbs. Drizzle in olive oil as you need it to get things moving in the processor bowl. Add in Parmesan cheese, cream cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over hot pasta, mix and try really hard not to put your whole head in the pot and start eating.

I reserved a tablespoon or two of the pasta water just in case the pesto was too thick and I definitely needed it with this recipe. Tonight I also added some diced leftover grilled chicken and pork tenderloin and topped it all off with a bit of fresh bruschetta from the olive bar at the world's best grocery store Wegman's.

Ken thinks this recipe is a keeper and I have to admit it's pretty darn good.
Photo courtesy of Ken McKinney