Kale Pesto Recipe

Have you noticed that Kale is all the rage these days?  Well, there is a reason.  It’s because it is so nutrient dense that it is a great way to get a lot of vitamins in one meal.  

Kale is a nutrition superstar due to the amounts of vitamins A, K, B6 and C, calcium, potassium, copper and manganese it contains. One cup of raw kale has just 33 calories and only 7 grams of carbohydrate.

But, let’s be honest. While I love the idea of the nutrition, I am really not a huge fan of kale salads.  And, I’ve never warmed up to sauteed kale either.

I recently tried the kale pesto at a local Italian restaurant and couldn’t slurp it up fast enough.  My body was telling me that it really wanted these nutrients.

So I found a recipe online and made some changes of my own.  Here it is:

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch of organic Kale- ribs and stems removed

• 1/3c raw pistachios 

• 1/3c Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 1-2 cloves of garlic

• 1/4c parmesan, finely grated; plus more for serving

• Handful of Fresh Basil- chopped

• Pasta

• Salt to taste

1 —

Place kale in a medium to large pot of boiling water

• Boil all the kale for 30 seconds

• Pour into a large strainer or colander to strain the water

• Rinse with cold water to prevent kale from cooking further (over-cooking will dull the color and remove vital vitamins)

2 —

In a large blender or food processor, blend nuts, oil, kale and parmesan

• Pulse to blend about 30 sec to 1 minute. Careful not too blend too much.

• Scrap sides to incorporate all of the ingredients.

3 —

Add salt to taste

• Blend to incorporate

4 —

Cook pasta according to directions.

• Pour pasta into a large strainer or colander to strain all of the water out.

• Return pasta to pot.

• Spoon desired amount of pesto onto the pasta and toss until well-coated.

• Plate and top with parmesan and fresh basil.