Oil-free and Healthy Spinach, Almond Pesto

Today was one of those days where inspite of working from home I hadnt cooked anything through the day. Surviving on cereal for breakfast and Einstein Bros Bagels for lunch we reached dinner point around 8 PM. That time of the day with a hungry kid is not the time to make a staple rice rasam meal. It had to be a quick fix one pot kind of meal. And so I went through the refridgerator and decided on making a simple pasta. Pasta though quick to make takes a good toll on prep time especially if you want to combine it with healthy vegetables. All the cutting and sauteing and cooking can get to you sometimes. I spotted a bunch of spinach bought and forgotten at the far end of my fridge and decided to do a pesto.

T decided to lend a hand but changed his mind and undertook the making of a salad accompaniment. While the spaghetti boiled towards al-dente, the pesto was ground to a paste and 20 minutes later a two course meal was ready.

Avocado which I seem to have readily available these days is an excellent and nutritious replacement for grease in some recipes. The creamy texture it lends to any dip or condiment never lets you miss the oil which might have otherwise been in it.

Oil-free and Healthy Spinach, Almond Pesto

Servings: Makes enough for 2 adults

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook time: 4 minutes (not included pasta cooking time)

Ingredients

1/2 bunch Spinach1/4 cup almonds
4 pods of Garlic1 Avocado1 tsp (or more) Black Pepper
1/2 small lemon

Some waterSalt to taste

Instructions

1. Wash the spinach leaves and microwave on high for a minute till soft. Alternately cook on the stove for around 5 minutes with a 1/4 cup of water. Cook spinach to tender.
2. Grind together cooked spinach, garlic, almonds and avocado flesh scooped out. To this add salt to taste, pepper and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Add tiny amounts of water as required to make a paste.
3. Scoop dollops of the ground pesto onto the cooked pasta and serve warm.