Lemon and Arugula Pesto Pasta

Peanut and tree nut free pesto!!

It's also packed with all the green things and that's always a plus! I used arugula, spinach, basil, garlic, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. The whole arugula leaves you see mixed in there are coated in a super simple vinaigrette recipe so there's an extra little vinegar kick in the dish from the white wine vinegar I used too!!

What you need:

• 1/2 box of pasta (I used Joval Foods brown rice penne pasta - makes 2 entrees or 3 side dishes)
• 3 handfuls of spinach (about 2 cups, completely packed)
• 1 handful of fresh basil (about 1 cup, completely packed)
• 2-6 garlic cloves (I love garlic so I usually do 3 or 4 cloves.)
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste (I usually do 1/2 tsp of each)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (separate portion as listed above)
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar (not white vinegar)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 handfuls of arugula (about 1 measuring cup, completely packed)

What to do:

1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions.
2. While the pasta cooks, put the spinach, basil, garlic, parm and lemon juice in a food processor and pulse for about a minute and slowly pour in the EVOO as you go. It should turn into a paste. More EVOO will loosen things up a bit and more parmesan cheese will thicken things up a bit so feel free to adjust! Season with salt and pepper after tasting.
3. Pour the EVOO, white wine vinegar, lemon juice and salt/pepper into a container with a lid and shake up to make a simple vinaigrette dressing. 
4. Pour the vinaigrette over the arugula and toss to combine.
5. When the pasta is done, drain it and run cool water over it so that it's not piping hot. (This will melt the cheese in the pesto which you don't want!)
6. Add the pesto to the pasta and mix to combine. You can either mix the arugula leaves into the pasta or serve the pesto pasta over the arugula leaves on a plate and combine while eating! Up to you!
7. Top with parmesan and lemon zest before serving.