Wholesome Wednesday: Kale Pesto

We absolutely love kale in everything!  Recently I had Andrew Weil's True Food cookbook and there was a  recipe for kale pesto.  Since we already love pesto, I thought combining the two would be right up our alley.  I wrote it down thinking it sounded interesting and promptly forgot about it.

Well last week, I had an abundance of kale I needed to use up and remembered that recipe.  First, I should remind you that pine nuts do not have a long shelf life.  If you don't pick them up at the store, make sure yours are fresh before you use them.  Otherwise the taste of your pesto might be a little off.  I forgot to test mine and they were a little stale, which did come through in the pesto.  Also if you don't have pine nuts (they are a little pricey) feel free to use an equal amount of another toasted nut.  Toasted walnuts are a great substitution here.  Second, this pesto really tastes better the second day.  Since its made with kale it stays the same vibrant green after storing unlike basil pesto.  No need to add an olive oil layer to the top.

True Food's recipe called for black kale (which I didn't have) so I used regular old green kale.  I also only made a half a recipe, which was more than enough for an entire box of pasta.

Kale Pesto

4 cups packed chopped fresh kale
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3-1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Fill a large bowl with ice water.

Plunge kale into boiling water for 3 minutes.  Using tongs, transfer kale to ice water.  After 3 minutes, drain the kale in a colander, then squeeze firmly to remove excess water.

Put kale and all ingredients except oil in food processor.  As you start to run food processor, drizzle olive oil in the opening.  Stop when you reach a pesto consistency.

I recommend you refrigerate overnight before use.