Kale Pesto

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Stock Pot

Senior Cook
Joined
Aug 1, 2012
Messages
295
Location
New Hampshire, USA
Kale is something I have vowed to eat more of. I got this out of a magazine and altered it a little bit by substituting roasted garlic for raw garlic, which tasted too harsh to me. I also reduced the salt a little bit. You can add more later if you want , but you can't take it out if its too much and parmesan can be salty.

This will serve 6 as a side dish when combined with 1 lb fettucine, some more parmesan and a little bit of butter.

4 c. chopped kale
0.5 c grated parmesan cheese
6 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
0.25 c. pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, roasted and chopped
0.25 tsp red pepper flakes
0.5 tsp. kosher salt

boil the kale for 3 minutes then transfer to ice water bath. Drain it and squeeze out moisture in a paper towel.

Put everything into a food processor and puree until smooth.

It's delicious and a nice variation on the usual basil-intense pesto taste.
 
I made a whole bunch of kale pesto this summer, as well as Swiss Chard pesto. I used almonds or roasted filberts (allergic to pine nuts). I added about 1/2 c fresh basil to the pesto when blending it. I also added chopped (finely) dehydrated tomatoes to the pesto. The pesto freezes nicely.

To freeze, I used ice cube trays, drizzled with EVVO, and then popped the frozen cubes into ziplock bags. I typically pull a couple of cubes out the night before and let them thaw in the fridge. That reminds me, I better start using the pesto...
 
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Great idea

That's a great idea. I hadn't thought about freezing it. Also, substituting other nuts is intriguing. I'm going to have to try that, too.
 
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