Spinach Pesto

I should have timed myself because I know this took less than 20 minutes to make.

Last night's dinner was a horrible fail. How bad was it? I wouldn't even post it as a fail, that's how bad. I've had quite a few fails lately and I really needed to do something to redeem myself. Pretty sure this did it.

Colourful, fresh, fast. Perfect spring dinner.

Spinach Pesto

• 3-4 cups fresh spinach
• 1/2 c grated parmesan, asiago, or romano cheese
• 2-3 tbsp nuts, I used cashews because I had them
• 1 large garlic clove
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt
• olive oil

Dinner was tasty, but I still didn't get all the ingredients in the picture though.

No oven to preheat this time. But getting the water boiling now helps. Grating the cheese too.

Dump the spinach leaves into the food processor.

Sprinkle on the cheese, nuts, garlic, lemon zest, and salt.

Squeeze in the juice.

A few pulses will get it looking like this.

This recipe makes enough for 4-6 servings of pasta, but if you want to make a double batch, just add another set of everything to the bowl, and do it all over again.

Scrape down the sides and this time, when you turn it on, pour in a tablespoon or two of olive oil, until it just turns pasty. 

At this point, you can use it as a pasta sauce, an ingredient in a dip, a sandwich spread, or even in soup.

A bit more oil will make it very saucy, but it will store and freeze just as well as it is now.

Besides, a bit of cream will make it saucy too.

You can make pesto with anything leafy and green. Spinach is very brightly coloured, but mildly flavoured. Even kids should eat this. But if they don't want to, add some prosciutto , tell them it's green noodles and ham and they don't get to say they don't like it until they try it. SamIAm.

Okay, there we go. I made dinner. I really can cook.

Pudding For Breakfast?

Seeley made a dessert pudding last week, but puddings don’t always have to be sweet.  With Easter coming up next weekend, many of us will have lots of leftover ham to find uses for, so I thought I’d put it in a savory bread pudding.  Eggs benedict bread pudding is just the thing.  You can even put it all together before bed and just pop the pan into the oven in the morning for an easy and delicious breakfast for the whole family. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 6 English muffins
• 1 cup diced ham
• 1 cup grated cheese
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups half and half
• 1 cup milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

The first thing you need to do is butter a 9x13 pan.  This is probably a good place for me to say, do as I say, not as I do.  Yes I know that is a square pan in the picture, but trust me, you want a 9x13. 

Tear up half of your English muffins and scatter them in the pan. 

Sprinkle on half of the ham. 

Then half of the cheese. 

Repeat.  Muffins, ham, cheese. 

And now you see why I told you to use a 9x13 pan.  Then you don’t have to dirty two of them when you figure out the square one is too small. 

There we go.  Much better. 

Now for the custard part.  I like to mix it in a large measuring cup so that it’s easy to pour.  Crack in your 4 eggs.  (yeah, ignore the picture again.)

Whisk them together, and then pour in the half and half and the milk. 

Add the salt and pepper and whisk some more. 

Pour that over the bread mixture. 

Press everything down so that every piece is soaked with the custard, then cover the pan and refrigerate it for at least a few hours, or overnight. 

When you’re ready, preheat your oven to 350°.  Bake for 40-50 minutes.  It should be starting to brown on top, and a knife inserted in the center will come out clean. 

That needs to cool for 20 minutes before you cut into it, so while you’re waiting, go ahead and whip up some hollandaise sauce to drizzle over the top.  Now how’s that for pudding? 

How do you like your pudding?  Sweet or savory? 

Update on Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at 8:55AM by Taneasha

So after eating both the fresh out of the oven version, and the reheated leftovers version, I've decided this dish is much better after being chilled.  I would recommend making and baking it before bed, then refrigerating it overnight and reheating it in the morning.  Don't get me wrong, it's really tasty either way, but the texture of the reheated version is better.