Growing up I always LOVED my aunt's pesto recipe. I used to be able to tolerate the accidental nut or two when I was younger so it wasn't until I was a bit older that I realized I'm allergic to pine nuts and I can't have traditional style pesto!! Lucky for me, pine nuts aren't the real flavor hero of the recipe unlike the crucial and potent garlic and basil components...so it's very easy to omit the pine nuts and still end up with something that tastes very similar to pesto!

A few house keeping notes:

• Measuring leaves is hard. If you're finding that your two cups of spinach and 6-7 basil leaves isn't blending as nicely with the 1/4 cup olive oil, add more olive oil in and adjust because the amount of greens you packed into that cup might be more or less than the exact amount I used.
• The first time I made this recipe I used TONS of green herbs -- so if you want to experiment and add in some more flavors, go for it!! Cilantro, chives and parsley all are great options. I sometimes make this dish with kale but since kale is a bit thicker I usually remove the stems and blanch or massage the kale in order to soften it up a bit for easier blending.
• For a healthier version, you could skip the cream!! (I also think a spoonful of greek yogurt would be amazing mixed in instead of cream as well.) Actually, the recipe without the cream is something I eat often, it's my "Popeye Pasta" recipe that I developed a few years back.

Creamy, spicy and tangy!! This sauce is so so so good!! The best part about it is that it can be paired with literally any type of protein. I've made it with grilled chicken, scallops, mushrooms and also just by itself!

For a more texture filled sauce, use crushed tomatoes and add diced onion in addition to the tomato paste! And since there's always a handful of people that ask - I haven't tried to make it dairy-free yet but if I did, I would try using unsweetened coconut cream in place of the heavy cream!