This adaptable recipe offers a delicious way to transform leftover ingredients into a flavorful addition to any meal. At its heart is a vibrant pesto, crafted from a medley of greens, offering a peppery and subtly sweet flavor profile. The combination of tender baby spinach, fresh basil, and arugula creates a verdant base for the sauce, providing a fresh, herbaceous taste.

Aromatic garlic infuses the pesto with a pungent depth, while crunchy walnuts provide a satisfying textural contrast. Tangy parmesan cheese adds a salty, umami richness, and extra virgin olive oil binds the ingredients together, creating a smooth, emulsified sauce. The beauty of this pesto lies in its versatility.

It can be used as a marinade to infuse proteins with flavor before cooking, a sauce to elevate simple dishes, or a dressing to brighten salads and vegetables. Feel free to experiment with different leafy greens to create your own unique blend. Kale, watercress, or any other green leaves you have on hand can be easily substituted.

While traditional pesto calls for pine nuts, this recipe utilizes walnuts as a readily available alternative. Macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, or almonds would also work well, each adding their own distinct flavor and texture. The parmesan cheese adds a salty and savory element to the sauce.

For a vegetarian option, substitute with a hard Italian cheese that does not contain animal rennet. For a completely plant-based version, nutritional yeast flakes can be used in place of the cheese, providing a similar cheesy, umami flavor.