Why Kale Pesto?

We are hearing a lot about Kale right now as it provides iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, anti-oxidants and vitamins K, A and C and all dark green leaves are a great addition to your diet.

What do you use pesto for?

In sandwiches/wraps instead of or as well as mayo, on pizzas, in baked potato, in pasta, on baked chicken or fish, on rice cakes, or in savory smoothies.

This almonds in this pesto provide a great source of nutrients and protein. Almonds are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, dietary fiber, riboflavin and antioxidants.

Tip: Kale leaves, when buying Kale try to get the whole leaves rather than the chopped ones that some supermarkets sell as it’s way more tedious to remove all the stalks from the chopped leaves.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cups curly kale leaves, torn, hard stems removed
  • 1/4 cup whole, raw almonds
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt or 1 teaspoon of Tamari reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice – some finely grated lemon rind
  • 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 ripe avocado

Preparation

  1. Blanche the torn kale leaves in a little boiling water for about 5 minutes to tenderize.
  2. In a food processor or blender, add the drained kale, almonds, garlic, salt or soy sauce, and lemon juice & rind.
  3. Pulse or blend until coarsely chopped. Stream in the extra virgin olive oil and process until a smooth paste forms, this can take a few minutes (if you want to use raw, un-blanched kale it will take a lot longer and will not be as smooth).
  4. Then add the mashed avocado and blend again.

Store in a sealed container in the fridge and just make sure the spoon going into it is totally clean each time, I get more than a week storage with this pesto.

Attend the Urban Retreat on Sunday, April 30th to taste this delicious dish and meet our special guests, Hola Organic Kombucha producers from Youghal.