Kale Pesto
Kale and I have a sort of serious relationship. It’s cheap, it braises well, and it’s basically nature’s multivitamin. I eat kale so often that a former housemate’s impression of me went something like, “I’m Allie. Kale kale kale. I like kale.”
I normally braise kale with a little bit of garlic, broth, maybe some bacon or sausage, and serve it over polenta. It’s delicious, but even the most delicious dish can get old when you have it all the time.
While I was reading this post on raw garlic at The Kitchn, a comment by someone called “pepsin” caught my eye. Comrade pepsin offered a recipe for kale pesto that utilizes lots of raw garlic.
Kale? Pesto? Garlic? Those are some of my favorite words.
While I know you can make pesto out of any kind of green or herb, I’ve stuck to my favorite basil pesto all summer. Now that summer’s over and my basil plant isn’t producing so much, it’s time to mix it up.
This pesto is good stuff. Bright, garlicky, and green, it tastes a lot like summer even though it uses a wintery green. It’s a nice transition food for fall.
Kale Pesto
2 cups kale
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup pine nuts or cashew nuts
juice from one lemon
1/3 – 1/2 cup good extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1) De-stem and roughly chop the kale.
2) Add the kale, basil, garlic, and lemon juice to a blender or food processor. Pulse until roughly combined.
3) Add the nuts. Pulse until combined.
4) While the blender is running on a low speed, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The pesto should form a thick, rich paste.
5) Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Eat with pasta, on crackers, in a sandwich, whatever. Just beware the garlic breath.
