Zesto Pesto

DH is a meat and potato kinda guy... but he loved this! I used it over chicken breast and cheese tortellini with sun-dried tomato french bread. Fanstastic - thanks for posting! Update 12/07: I love the 'skinny' version of this Pesto Sauce: I use a high quality white wine, double the amount called for and toss in some lemon juice in place of the full zest - then reduce the olive oil by about half. I also use reduced fat parmesan cheese. Fantastic! I've also noticed that (oddly enough) I preferthe cashews over pine nuts in this recipe.

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I enjoyed this pesto, especially the addition of fresh spinach to it, which I've never done. The only issue I had was that I found three garlic cloves to be WAY too strong for me, and I love garlic. Obviously, its "zesto" pesto, so I should have anticipated that, but I found that I had to cut the overly intense garlic with some more nuts and oil. I do have to say that the flavor mellowed after two days in the fridge. As far as pesto recipes go, this one is a keeper!!

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This pesto tastes light and is so refreshing! I used a little less olive oil (just added the oil until it came to the right consistency.) I served it with linguine and the family actually favored this dish more after the pasta had cooled, kind of like a pasta salad. Next time, I'll serve the pesto & pasta as a side dish instead of a main meal because I think chicken, fish or steak would go great with this. I'll also try adding this pesto to crostinis and maybe top them with a little feta. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

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Love this! I had a stash in the freezer and just pulled the last of it out. Can't wait to make some more! Thanks for sharing!

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My DH loved this and he is the pickiest eater I know so thank you for the recipe! I love the use of spinach in this. The only thing I would change about this recipe is to add the juice from the lemon. Once I did, it tasted much better. I felt it needed the extra "zing". I also substituted pumpkin seeds for the pine nuts (they are waaay too expensive) and it turned out great.

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What a great idea to add spinach to the good ol' pesto. It added a wonderful flavor and a few more nutrients. I used it to make whole wheat penne and Recipe #196787. Fantastic!

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Absolutely delicious! I can see why this won the contest. I decreased the amount of oil and salt. The spinach, wine and cashews blend into the final flavor, so that shouldn't scare anyone off. It went very well with a lemon pepper pappardelle. Thanks for your creation, Evelyn, it was very yummy!

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This is a wonderful Pesto recipe. I am not normally a big spinach fan...but oh this is soooo good! No wonder it won a RSC contest!!!!!!

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Okay, let me confess that I was previously not the biggest Pesto fan. I thought it was okay. But no more...this is a great Pesto recipe! For my batch, I used several types of basil from our fall garden explosion, giving the end product a pretty green and purple dotted color. Spinach makes this pesto a bit less intense than some others, but seems to make the basil taste and smell even fresher. Cashews bump up the nutty flavor and texture, and I now like them more than pine nuts. I did make some minor changes. I added 1/4 cup of green olives, because I had a feeling that another layer of salty/sweet would work, and it did. I was out of white wine (argh!), so I substituted Sanpellegrino Limonata (Italian Lemon Soda). Next time I will make sure there is wine in the house before I start, but the Limonata did not hurt it a bit. In fact, it is probably a good non-alcoholic option. But wow, double the recipe if you want enough Pesto to make it to the pasta. Wandering spoons may cause it to mysteriously disappear. (FYI: a double recipe stuffs a Cuisinart to the brim.) By the way, Basil is very good for you. It's a great source of vitamin K, flavonoids, has anti-inflammatory properties, as well as being a natural anti-bacterial herb that can help make uncooked food (such as garden greens) safer to eat. 5+ stars. Thank you, evelyn/athens

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This is delicious. I served it over Sea Scallops. It was a huge hit. Thanks for The Recipie!

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This was a really delicious tweaking of a classic, thanks for the interesting recipe Evelyn, this is so good!!

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It was the first time that I made pesto. I always bought a jar from the market and I often enjoyed in the restaurants. But now I admire myself and Evelyn. It was perfect and so easy to make. I used pine nuts and reduced the olive oil. Thanks!!!

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I just realized that I've never reviewed this though it was a repeat recipe for me over the summer when I had fresh basil at hand. This is truly a special pesto. I got cashews to make it, as these were more of a pesto novelty for me and, believe me, the result was sinfully delicious. I'm sure it will be on my table again many, many times!

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Oh wow, this is so fabulous! I haven't even put it on pasta yet and I'm licking the bowl. This is the best pesto I've ever made and I've made quite a few recipes. Thanks, Evelyn!

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good, and makes a good amount

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Absolutely wonderful pesto!! I followed the rules except used Mauna Loa roasted macadamia baking pieces (from Trader Joe) rather than cashews. The snails always eat my garden basil, so Trader Joe to the rescue. They carry a big clamshell box for $1.89 this time of year. A salad spinner comes in handy to completely dry the baby spinach and basil. The Cuisinart and microplane zester make quick work of the final preparation, so I used all my favorite kitchen toys!! The addition of a bit of wine and lemon zest have to be the secrets to a marvelous mixture with a greener than grass color. We now discard all other pesto recipes. This one wins my Blue Ribbon.

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This was my first attempt at homemade pesto and it turned out to be amazing. I made the pine nut version and I will definitely be making this over and over again!

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I had to see this: Evelyn's winning recipe, 2004. And I printed it immediately. I only have to read a recipe to know what it will be like, and this is excellent. Can't wait to make it.

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This was excellent. I served it one night as an appetizer on toasted baguette and the next evening I put it on pasta. Thanks for the great recipe!

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We really enjoyed this version of pesto. I served it with some pasta on one occasion with good results and then used it to make [recipe=21882]Chicken Pesto[/recipe]by Sharon 123. It was excellent in that recipe as well.

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