Sunday, April 29, 2012

super easy kale pesto (and the many meals it became)



I am a huge fan of anything I can throw into the Cuisinart that results in a delicious meal in minutes. Lately, I have been making a lot of pestos. But not just any old pestos. These bad boys are filled with the nutritious goodness of my Superfood du jour: kale (and heck, walnuts aren't too far behind). Here's one of my latest and greatest kale pesto recipes:

Kale Pesto
(makes 6 servings + plenty leftover to use different ways throughout the week, or to freeze)

3/4 -1 lb kale (fresh, tough stem removed, or frozen)
1/2 cup raw walnuts
5-6 cloves of garlic
1 cup olive oil
zest of 1-2 lemon(s)
salt & pepper to taste

Pulse all ingredients in a Cuisinart until pureed. I served this over our favorite pasta on night one.



Then I blended part of the batch with a can of chickpeas to make a protein-rich hummus, which I served in cucumber cups at a mom's night out...


And last, but certainly not least: toasted pieces of hearty bread were smothered in the pesto, topped with a blend of mozzarella and Parmesan and popped under the broiler to become another quick meal. (I am pretty sure I served it for both a breakfast and a quick dinner that week...)

Pestos also freeze beautifully, so go ahead and make a big batch. What's your favorite combination of pesto ingredients? I'd love to hear!                                                
Hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as mine! - Eila

11 comments:

  1. Yum Eila, this sounds amazing - kale is king!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love this! How simple, nutritious and perfectly easy! We're going to feature this on our Facebook page and link here so people can see how you did it, and your lovely photography. If you wish, come LIKE us on Facebook for more recipes and tips on greens like kale, chard, beet, mustard, turnip, collard, spinach, escarole, dandelion and other super healthy green leafies. https://www.facebook.com/Cut.n.Clean.Greens

    --Your friendly farmers at Cut `n Clean Greens
    https://www.facebook.com/Cut.n.Clean.Greens

    ReplyDelete
  3. This was great! I added some lemon lime basil from the garden and used red kale. I also added lemon juice from half a lemon. It's really delicious and can't wait to try it on pasta.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Arugula and spinach (fresh or frozen) both work well for pesto. Spinach, sauteed w/ mushrooms and walnuts, then pureed w/ avacado also makes and awesome vegan spinach dip. I like to just season it w/ salt, pepper, and cumin

    ReplyDelete
  5. what great ideas! thanks for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Been trying to figure out what to do with all that kale in the garden. I added lemon juice, too. (Why not, it was already in my hand from zesting.) So yummy- thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. hey there, wondering about making this with Swiss Chard instead of kale? have you tried that at all?

    thx for all your great recipes! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Susan!
    No, I haven't tried it with chard, but there's absolutely no reason that wouldn't work beautifully too! I have done spinach, kale, arugula, etc.... any green works well!! Let us know how it is if you do it with chard!!
    Eila

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank You! What a perfect way to use kale. I love kale in all its forms, but this is special.

    ReplyDelete
  10. would this still work without the nuts? i have a nut-free daugher that loves pesto and I love the idea of getting the kale in!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. absolutely! i don't see why not!! you might just need to add more olive oil....

      Delete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.