Potato Salad With Chickpeas And Spinach Pesto

If you like spinach and pesto you should try spinach pesto. I made the spinach pesto with parmesan cheese, crushed pine seeds, extra virgin olive oil and a touch of lemon. I was surprised how tasty it was. For this recipe I didn’t use basil so the taste is different from classic pesto sauce despite the similarities.

I combined it with a potato salad with crunchy chickpeas so the result was a healthy vegan lunch also suitable for a takeaway bowl.

The spinach pesto

Peel the garlic and gently simmer it about 5 minutes in a small casserole or pan.

In a large pot or casserole add about 2 litres of water and a pinch of salt and bring it to a boil. Add the spinach, reduce the heat and let it simmer about 2-3 minutes then remove it from the water and let it drain and cool down a little.

Grate the parmesan and put it aside.

Finely chop the spinach (it should be drained and not very hot), together with the garlic and the pine seeds and give it a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. You can use a blender or a kitchen robot but I preferred the chopping board. Transfer the spinach in a bowl, add the grated parmesan cheese, another drizzle of olive oil, a short lemon squeeze and mix it well. The pesto is ready.

The potato - chickpeas salad

Preheat the oven at 200C with ventilation.

Boil the potatoes without peeling them about 30-40 minutes (test them with a fork), drain the water and peel them.

Drain the canned chickpeas, put them in a bowl add a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive oil and mix well. Bake the chickpeas in a large baking tray on baking paper for about 25 minutes.

Slice the potatoes in round pieces and mix them in a large bowl with the baked chickpeas, a pinch of salt, a lemon squeeze and a drizzle of olive oil.

On a large plate or bowl combine the potato-chickpeas salad and the spinach pesto. Enjoy !

INGREDIENTS - for 2 persons

• Organic / Best you can get spinach - 300 - 400 grams

• Organic / Best you can get canned chickpeas - about 250 grams (the net content of a 400 ml can)

• Organic / Best you can get potatoes - 4 medium potatoes - about 350 grams

• Organic / Best you can get garlic - 3-4 medium garlic cloves

• Organic / Best you can get lemon - 1/2 medium lemon

• Organic / Best you can get parmesan cheese - 30 grams

• Organic / Best you can get pine seeds - 20 grams

• Good quality extra virgin olive oil - 2 table spoons

• A pinch of salt

• A pinch of pepper