Lush "Floresto" Cream Sauce and White Rioja

Sorry for the absence, things have been busy…but I have a gift- a recipe for you!

 

I had one of those fun cooking moments where I used what was available in the house-along with some herbs from the Lush Herb Garden-to mesh a couple recipes together and it was really good. It’s a combination of a Florentine, pesto sauce (no nuts), and alfredo sauce, so I’m calling it The Lush "Floresto" Cream Sauce…..

 

Melt in a sauce pan:

• 2 tbs unsalted butter
• 1 tbs garlic

Then mix in:

• ¾ c heavy cream
• ¼ c skim milk until warm.
• Slowly add 1 c shredded parmesan cheese and continue stirring until fully melted. (good quality parm and constant stirring is the key)

Mix in a chopper / food processor:

• 1 ½ c baby spinach
• ¼ c fresh basil
• 1 tbs olive oil
• ¼ tsp kosher salt

Slowly add the spinach / basil mixture to the cream sauce, toss with pasta (we used mini penne pasta) and other ingredients if you desire (we put in some chicken and mushrooms that was sautéed with light blackening seasonings, which was fabulous) and top with more parm cheese. For our wine pairing, we had the 2007 Marques De Caceres White Rioja-light, crisp, perfect with the cream sauce. (for other wine pairings, I'd recommend something like a California Sauv Blanc or white Bordeaux.) It was delish!