Okay, let me preface this post by saying I have HATED kale for a while now. I just couldn't stand the taste or texture of it. I have tried it over and over hoping to enjoy it because of the healthy benefits it brings along with it. It is great to include in your diet if you are trying to loose weight, it has amazing antioxidants, give your metabolism a boost, and among other things is awesome for your immune system. See? We should all be eating it right? Well, I have finally figured out a way that I can actually ENJOY eating Kale. I made it into a pesto! I jar pesto every summer, so I think I may trade a few jars our for this kale pesto. It is a wonderful thing to have on hand in the freezer for a go to meal.
I did keep this recipe dairy free by using nutritional yeast, but by all means, grab 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese and toss it in instead.
This pesto can be used on top of baked chicken, as a sauce with a pound of pasta, or even as a spread on your favorite bread. I can't wait to see everywhere I can use this recipe! I made my pesto into a quick skillet meal that was super delicious!
Okay so do you want to know how I made kale into pesto? Well grab a food processor or blender and lets get to work!
Kale Pesto
GF/DF
Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh kale
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/2 t red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 T nutritional yeast
1 T fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
What to do:
Start by trimming the tough stems out of your kale so all you are left with is the leafy part.
Rinse your kale leaves very well. I like to use a strainer in the sink to make this step super simple.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Add your rinsed kale in and allow to cook for about 1 minute. You will see the beautiful green color really start to pop.
Quickly remove the leaves and transfer back to your strainer. Rinse cold water over the leaves to stop the cooking process.
Rinse your basil leaves.
Add kale, basil, garlic, red pepper flakes, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and salt into your food processor.
Process for about 1 minute.
Add in your walnuts and scrape down the sides of the food processor. Process for about 45 seconds.
While the food processor is still running, slowly pour in your olive oil and allow to process for another minute.
Taste for salt levels, and there is your pesto!!
So here is what I did with my pesto. I cooked 1 cup of millet according to the package directions (you could easily use rice here). While that was cooking, I cut up some chicken and sautéed it in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. I sprinkled the chicken with a little salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Once the chicken was cooked, I added the millet and pesto into the skillet and gave it all a stir. That is it!!
Hubs sprinkled his with a little parmesan cheese and said it was delicious!
Thanks Y'all!
-Wise Wife
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