Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens

This pesto!!!

My new favorite.

Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens | edibleperspective.com
Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens | edibleperspective.com

Today’s post is sponsored by Earthbound Farms.  Product opinions and recipes are always my own.  Thank you for supporting the occasional sponsored post that helps fund all the deliciousness + behind the scenes action you see here.

I’ve been in a little dinner-recipe rut, but whoa, did this turn things around for me!

Rosemary is possibly my favorite herb of all time.  There’s just something about it, especially when combined with potatoes.  So much goodness.  

Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens | edibleperspective.com
Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens | edibleperspective.com

While eating pistachios the other day I had a thought.  I’ve gone through nearly 2lbs of pistachios in about 1 1/2 weeks.  SCARY.  Most of them were in cookies, which I ate 85% of.  Still scary.  Chris has definitely helped with the pistachio consumption, so we’re nearing 1lb each…still slightly concerning.

However, besides the thought of consuming so many pistachios + still wanting more I was also thinking that they would pair really well with rosemary.  Something about the flavor combination was just calling my name.  A little nutty.  A little woodsy and fragrant.  I could almost taste it without tasting it.

Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens | edibleperspective.com
Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens | edibleperspective.com

And that is when this pesto idea was born, resulting in richly flavored pesto bulked up with Earthbound Farm’s Deep Greens Power blend.  The baby greens don’t require any cooking, resulting in a 10 minute recipe that is easily thrown together to have on hand as a topping for just about anything.

Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens | edibleperspective.com
Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens | edibleperspective.com

like…

  • roasted potatoes
  • roasted broccoli
  • avocado toast
  • lentil meat-less balls
  • veggie burgers
  • eggs
  • pasta
  • pizza sauce
  • crispy polenta
  • grilled tofu
  • etc. etc.
Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens | edibleperspective.com
Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens | edibleperspective.com

Print recipe!

Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens

gluten-free, vegan option // yields ~3/4 cup

  • 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1/2 cup roasted/salted pistachios
  • 2 cups packed power greens*
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, see notes for vegan option
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 – 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

for the pesto:

Place the peeled garlic in a large food processor and turn on until garlic is chopped.  Add in the pistachios and process until you have pebble-sized pieces. 

Remove stem ends from the greens and measure out 2 packed cups [but not tightly packed] of greens then add in the parmesan, rosemary, lemon juice, pepper, and salt.  Pulse until mixture is chopped and combined [refer to photo 2].

Slowly stream in the olive oil and pulse the mixture simultaneously until your desired consistency is met.  I used 1/3 cup olive oil.  Taste and add more salt + pepper if needed.

Store in a sealed jar for up to a week in the fridge and use as desired.

for the pasta:

  • 4-6 servings of pasta, my favorite gluten-free pasta
  • 6-8 large handfuls of power greens
  • chopped pistachios, sundried tomatoes, roasted garlic, salt/pepper

Cook pasta [4-6 servings worth] according to package directions and reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.  Place back in the pot and add as much pesto as desired.  Add in cooking water 1 tablespoon at a time to help spread the pesto, then stir.  Add more water as needed.  Stir in power greens and sun-dried tomatoes and let cook until greens are just wilted.  Top each portion with chopped pistachios, roasted garlic, and salt + pepper.

notes: *The Power Greens mix is a combination of baby spinach, baby kale, and baby swiss chard.  If using unsalted pistachios you’ll need to add more salt to the pesto.  For a vegan version sub in 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and follow directions as stated.  Add more olive oil if needed as nutritional yeast will thicken the pesto.

Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens | edibleperspective.com
Pistachio Rosemary Pesto with Power Greens | edibleperspective.com

Simple. Comforting.  Wintery.  Vibrant green.  I’d say we have a winner.

Ashley

messy, delicious no-bake lasagna

Last week when my mom was in town it took until night 5 before I actually made dinner at home.  And it took until day 6 before my mom ever even saw a glimpse of the mountains.  Hangs head...  But, my mom's main reason for this trip was to help us get settled in our house and she did just that.  While I didn't get to make dinner every night and we didn't actually make it to the mountains, I still relished in the time that my mom was here, focusing on what we did instead of what we didn't do.

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We ran what felt like 237 errands throughout the week.  I was ready to drop but she was ready for more.  She cleaned, organized, consolidated, brainstormed, and gave me loads of that calming-mom-goodness she's full of.  Where does it all come from?

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I'm not quite sure how she does it.  I'm also not quite sure how I got so lucky.  

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So, on that fifth night we finally took a break from the house and dining out and I whipped up a big batch of tofu-ricotta lasagna.  I started with my red sauce, prepped the tofu, layered the lasagna, and set it off to bake.  Dinner may have been served an hour later than I was hoping but there were no complaints.  In fact, there were hardly any words.

Too.busy.chewing.

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While I absolutely love the end result of lasagna it can turn into quite the time commitment, which is where this recipe comes into play.  This actually came about the following day during lunch.  I had a few un-sauced noodles left that wouldn't fit in the lasagna pan, a pint-sized jar of leftover sauce, and a few dollops of tofu ricotta.  I decided to just throw everything in a pan and heat it up.

It was then plopped into a bowl and inhaled.  

No need to bake.  No need to layer.  No need to dirty a million dishes.  Just throw it in a pot, stir together, top with ricotta + fresh mozz or tofu-ricotta and scarf.

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The lasagna noodles are just so doughy + delicious.  And, I allowed time for the sauce to thicken up just like it does when you bake lasagna.

Lasagna on the quick. 

Totally digging it.

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Print this!

No-Bake Spinach Lasagna

gluten-free, vegan option // yields 4-6 servings

  • 1, 10oz box lasagna noodles, gluten-free if needed - my favorite
  • 4 cups prepared red sauce
  • 1 large bunch spinach, washed + stem ends discarded
  • 12-15oz, ricotta
  • 4-8oz, fresh mozzarella, sliced
  • salt, pepper, fresh basil
  1. Cook the lasagna noodles according to package instructions.  
  2. Drain and rinse with cold water.
  3. Heat red sauce in the emptied noodle pot over medium heat.  If using a thin sauce let it cook for awhile allowing to thicken.
  4. Once it starts to simmer reduce heat to med-low and add the spinach.  Stir frequently for 2-3 minutes until the spinach starts to cook down.
  5. Add in the noodles and gently fold/stir until the mixture is hot and simmering.
  6. While cooking, drizzle a pan with oil and gently heat your ricotta or tofu-ricotta over med-low heat, until just heated through.  Remove from heat.
  7. Pour about 1/3 of the pasta mixture in a large serving bowl and top with dollops of ricotta and slices of mozzarella.  No need to spread the ricotta.  
  8. Repeat step 7 twice more and top with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and sliced basil.  Serve immediately.
  9. For individual portions:  Preheat your oven to broil.  Fill 4-6, small baking dishes with the lasagna mixture.  Top with a few dollops of ricotta and mozzarella.  Place under the broiler until bubbly and starting to brown, about 3-5 minutes.  Watch closely.  Top with salt, pepper, and basil and serve.

notes/substitutions: For a vegan version make this tofu ricotta filling and omit the mozzarella cheese.  I used bunched spinach that you find in the produce area by lettuce.  If using baby spinach sub about 8 cups/handfuls.  This red wine + rosemary variation on my red sauce is perfect for fall and winter.  Or, try these other pasta dishes: spaghetti squash stuffed shellscreamy marinara and kale pasta, vegan.

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And while you definitely don't need to bake this meal...

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It's totally acceptable to portion out separate servings, top with ricotta + mozz, then broil until bubbly + browned.

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I owe you mom [and dad!].  At least 100 million more homecooked meals.  Although, that still won't be near enough.

Ashley