Spinach Pesto with Peas and Potatoes
I continue to find myself surprised at how our children's palate develops. For the most part they are good eaters and are willing to try new things. While the recipe below does not consist of flavours exotic to our little boys, it pleases me to know that they ate the meal with great enthusiasm. I find myself swaying between adoring basil and an aversion to it, but they seemed perfectly happy with it.
This is a great way to get some raw leafy greens into the boys, it also contains healthy fats and when served with the potatoes and peas makes for a great one bowl meal for them (and mommy and daddy who happily “shared”). It is also a very good alternative to our little dudes’ addiction to all things pasta.
The pesto that the potatoes and peas are slathered in is mellowed by the addition of baby spinach (we also enjoy pesto with kale). The peas add a sweetness to the dish that works well with the potatoes, especially since we serve the potatoes with the skin on. It is a comforting meal that is just as tasty served cold. The pesto has also found its way into our sandwiches and we find that it works well smothered on toast with some extra firm tofu and slices of avocado.
Pesto:
Ingredients:
- 200g baby spinach
- 30g basil
- 50g pine nuts
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 nutritional yeast
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Method:
- Place ingredients into a food processor fitted with the S blade and blend until smooth. Our food processor bowl is not very large, so we add the spinach one handful at a time.
Potatoes and Peas:
- 750g baby (new) potatoes
- 500g peas (we use frozen petits pois)
Method:
- As mentioned above, we like to keep the skin on our potatoes, but if you prefer to serve them without the skin and are using baby potatoes, then it is easiest to skin them after they have been steamed.
- Gently scrub the potatoes in a large bowl of water and rinse. Cut the potatoes in half or quarters, depending on their size to roughly 1” chunks and place in a steamer and steam for 10 min.
- Place the peas in a medim sized lidded pot with 1 cup of water, bring to the boil, cover and cook for 5 min. or until tender (cooked but with a bite).
- Place the cooked potatoes and peas in a large mixing bowl and add pesto to your hearts content.
