A unique green (verde) sauce for lasagna or baked ziti.
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 to 3 tsp lemongrass and horseradish root
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water
Place the walnuts and pumpkin seeds in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until coarsely chopped, about 10 seconds.
Add the next 4 ingredients and process until mixture resembles a paste, about 1 minute.
With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly blended.
You can stop here and use as a pesto OR:
Continue running processor and slowly add the water until sauce is desired consistency. (It should be thin enough to pour, like a tomato sauce.)
Use sauce immediately or store in a tightly sealed jar or air-tight plastic container, covered with a thin layer of olive oil (this seals out the air and prevents the ingredients from oxidizing, which would turn it an ugly brown color).
It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.
