After a while though, too much of a good thing can wear a bit thin and I struggle to come up with ways to use it.
Over the years, I've made my share of basil pesto, arugula pesto, spinach pesto, and even cilantro pesto but, until now, had not thought to make pesto out of kale, until I made a batch of kuri squash soup the other day and craved a spoonful of home made pesto to swirl into it.
Now, I ask you, what is pesto but green leafy things, garlic, nuts, cheese, and olive oil all buzzed up into a delicious paste? You can add a bit of lemon juice or a pinch of red pepper flakes to spice things up a bit, but those are the basics. So why not kale?
Turns out, why not kale? It makes a deeply green, healthful spoonful to swirl into your winter soups and stews. Plus, it tastes really, really good. I think you should try it.
Christine's Kale Pestoprint recipe
Ingredients:
4-6 cups (about 6.5 ounces) young kale leaves, ribs removed, coarsely chopped
1 large fresh garlic clove, smashed and coarsely chopped
3/4 cup coarsely chopped, toasted walnuts
3/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup olive oil or walnut/olive oil mix
juice of 1 Meyer lemon
1/2 teaspoon gray sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preparation:
Place the kale, nuts, garlic and cheese in a food processor and pulse until well combined.
With the machine running, drizzle the oil(s) through the feed tube until the pesto is uniformly ground and spoonably moist. You know, just like pesto.
Add the lemon juice and pulse a few times then taste. Adjust the seasonings with the sea salt and black pepper, pulsing until incorporated.
Remove from the processor and spoon into a lidded storage container. Use within a week.
Swirl into soups and stews, serve over hot pasta, shake into vinaigrette. It's all good and good for you.
Tear the leaves off of either side of the central rib before using. (My chickens love the ribs.)
I like to freeze what pesto will not be used within a week. Here's a method that allows you to control the thawed portions: spray the cups of a plastic ice cube tray with a small amount of cooking spray, wipe gently with a paper towel then fill them with the pesto, pressing down to eliminate air pockets. Freeze until solid then pop out the frozen nuggets and place them in zip top freezer bags for freezer burn-free storage.
Copyright © 2005-2012, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved
I love kale~collard greens, all of that........this looks so tasty! And I like the idea that the pesto can be frozen!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. I'm a new kale lover, so I'm trying it every which way. I'm adding pesto to the list.
ReplyDeleteKale pesto? How very interesting! On my list to try, now!
ReplyDeleteNice idea, Christine. I am also eager to find recipes that use kale. I also have collard greens in my garden: they do better than spinach.
ReplyDeleteP.S. You may already know, but Food for People accepts fresh vegetables as donation.
Hi Jann. I've frozen many a pesto with fine results on thawing. Thanks for the visit!
ReplyDeleteI know you will come up with something spectacular in a kale dish, Lydia. Something in a soup, perhaps?
Hi Simona. I'll save some of this pesto for you to try. I'll have to give collard greens a try; have never grown them.
I know you'll like it, Paz. And you can add other condiments to suit your taste.
Kale pesto is one I've been wanting to do since I discovered I'm in love with the stuff. So far I've been very consistent in chopping up just one leaf and adding it to my breakfast grits - crazy but I feel so healthy eating it and really find it terrific tasting especially with a little crushed garlic ;-)
ReplyDeleteSoon I've got to do the pesto.
Kale pesto, What a good & great idea!
ReplyDeleteI love kale so much & it is very much used here in Belgium!
But a kale paesto, why not? Yum! :)
Great idea! Going to save this for CSA time.
ReplyDeleteI just made kale pesto for the first time a couple of weeks ago and loved it. We swirled it in our risotto the first night then in our sweet potato soup the next. Kale is so hot right now, isn't it?
ReplyDelete