A scrumptious (and tree-nut free) twist on a classic. We make multiple batches of this at a time and freeze it, as one method of preserving the abundance of kale coming from our garden. KALE?! See my blog post "KALE" to understand why this brassica should be a staple in your garden!
MAKES:
2 jelly jars, filled 3/4 full
(easy to scale up this quantity, my blender is just very petite)
Use within 2 weeks if salt included and stored in fridge, or freeze it!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cup fresh packed kale, minus thick lower stems
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
3 TBSP pecorino romano cheese shreds
2 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 tea salt
1/4 cup olive oil (+/- depending on your preference, I add +1 TBSP)
1 tea powdered OR 1 clove of garlic
DIRECTIONS:
Put it all into the blender!
You may need to pause and spoon around the contents to get your kale to thoroughly chop in. I sped up the process by quickly cutting my kale leaves with kitchen scissors when putting it into the blender container.
If the ingredients are simply too dry, add small amounts of olive oil at a time until the right consistency forms.
PERSONALIZE!:
Our house avoids tree-nuts, but you can of course sub the peanuts with any tree nut. I think walnut would be especially delicious in this. Bonus of the peanuts is the cost factor vs other nut options.
Any nuts used should be roasted. Pre-salted or not is up to your personal diet needs and you can always alter the salt content in the recipe as needed. Salt is a preservative so I do recommend adding it unless you plan to use the pesto up quickly.
I used sea salt in my pesto.
Try other cheeses!
More garlic? Maybe some red pepper flakes? Basil for some of that traditional pesto flavor? Red onion?
USES:
Pasta! Most are familiar with pesto in their hot pasta dishes.
Cold noodle salads work great too!
Added to potato salads even!
Add a scoop of pesto to the top of a traditional garden salad in place of heavier dressings.
Eat it with crackers, like a dip.
Roast pesto with tomatoes on some toast or English muffins, bruschetta style.
Spread it on bread/wraps with your favorite deli sandwich toppings, either mixed with mayo or in place of mayo.
Use it for flavoring in a chicken veggie stir fry.
Top your hot steak with a spoonful.
Use as a baked potato topping.
What other ways can you think of? I'd love to try them.
