The Fabulous Flynn of Roscoe, NY, aka Kale Kat (Photo by E. Ennis)

Vegan KALE pesto.  It’s delicious!

This recipe was closely adapted from the great kale & walnut pesto recipe on the fabulous Love & Lemons site.  Thank you Love & Lemons!

Pesto Ingredients

1 large bunch of lacinato kale, stems removed, leaves rinsed
1/2 cup walnuts, lightly toasted
1 large clove garlic, quartered
1/3 cup lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil

Method

Blanch the kale leaves in boiling water for 30 seconds.  Remove from water and run under cold water to stop them cooking.   Squeeze water from the kale.

Add all the ingredients except the olive oil to the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times and then add the olive oil.  Process until it reaches the desired consistency.

Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt, pepper, and lemon juice if necessary.

This recipe makes a large batch of pesto.

Kale Pesto with Pasta and Tomatoes

For a delicious dinner, combine tomatoes with pasta and the kale pesto.  First, cook a 1 lb bag of  gimelli (or other shape pasta) according to the package directions.  When it is al dente, drain it and returned it to the pot.  Then toss the hot pasta with a pint of cherry tomatoes, which have been quartered lengthwise.  Then, add about 1/2 of the batch of pesto and some additional salt and pepper.  The tomatoes add a bright flavor to the dish.

Kale Pesto with Kale Fettucine

For another dinner, we mixed about the rest of the kale pesto with a full bag (12 oz) of Tuscan Kale Fettucine made by Northern Farmhouse Pasta, which we purchased at the Roscoe, NY, farm market.  Our dinner gave us a double dose of healthy and delicious kale.