Spinach and Almond Pesto Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage

I like the pesto, but sometimes a traditional basil pesto is too strong and tends to take over every ingredient... so I created a pesto where baby spinach is the star and basil is used in moderation to bring in the herbaceous flavor you expect with pesto. Since I was switching it up with ingredients, I used almonds instead of pine nuts. The almonds don't turn to dust like the pine nuts do and give this pesto some nice crunch and texture. Instead of adding Parmesan to the pesto, I use shaved Parmesan on top to keep the pesto nice and light.

Spinach and Almond Pesto Pasta with Italian Chicken Sausage

Spinach and Almond Pesto
2 Cups fresh baby spinach
6 large fresh basil leaves
3 Tablespoons of olive oil
3 Large cloves of fresh garlic
1/4 Cup Toasted almonds
2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
Salt and Pepper

2 Servings of corkscrew whole wheat pasta
Parmesan shavings
1 Italian Chicken Sausage

Serves 2
Spinach and Almond Pesto
Toast almonds in a dry pan on the stove until fragrant. Make pesto by blending spinach, basil, olive oil, garlic, almonds and lemon juice in a food processor, add salt and pepper to taste Set aside and keep it at room temperature until ready to use. Boil 4 cups salted water and put in pasta. Cook according to package directions. While pasta cooks, use a  stove top grill pan ( or broil in the oven) to heat and char the chicken sausage. The sausage is fully cooked so this will only take a 3-5 minutes. Bias slice sausage into thin 1/8 inch slices. To make Parmesan shavings use a potato peeler and run down the side of wedge of Parmesan cheese. Drain pasta and place back in the pot, mix in pesto and season with salt and pepper. Spoon pasta into serving bowls.  Top with sausage and Parmesan shavings. Dress with a pinch of  salt and pepper and drizzle of olive oil.