Pesto.

I just love the taste of pesto and it compliments so many different dishes. A lot of the pesto I have bought, however, has been super oily and not my style. I had been meaning to try making my own pesto to toss with pasta or on crostini. Seeing as though I've never made pesto before, I looked up some recipes and added my own spin to them. Rather than the traditional basil used to make pesto, I used arugula and some spinach. I added my pesto to linguini and threw some shrimp in there too and it turned out really great. Recipe follows. Would you say your pesto is the besto? Please share tips on how you make your pesto!

Arugula & spinach pesto in the making.

Finished pesto linguini dish with shrimp.

Paired with Hart Rose wine I got from Temecula.

Pesto Linguini with Shrimp

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of fresh arugula and spinach (mixed)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound of shrimp (peeled and deveined)
• 1 pound of linguini pasta (can be any pasta though)
• lemon zest and Italian parsley for garnish

1. Blend the arugula and spinach with the garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add 1/2 cup of olive oil, processing until well blended.
2. Transfer the pesto to a large bowl and stir in the Parmesan cheese.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Using a knife, cut the back of the shrimp to butterfly them.
5. Marinate shrimp with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt in a Ziploc bag.
6. Grill the shrimp on high heat until just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer shrimp to a plate.
7. Cook the pasta al dente in a large pot of boiling salted water. Stir occasionally, about 8 minutes.
8. Drain pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
9. Toss the pasta with the pesto in a large bowl to coat, adding the reserved pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time to moisten.
10. Top with the grilled shrimp and garnish with lemon zest and parsley.