Italian Kale Pesto
Italian kale pesto is a creamy pasta sauce made from kale, pine nuts or walnuts flavored with olive oil, garlic and grated parmesan. Italian kale pesto is most traditionally used to dress pasta but you can also use it as a condiment as you would any other kind of pesto such as in minestrone soup, on sandwiches or as a dip.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale (about 8-10 oz), cleaned and destemmed
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (about 2.25 oz, or 65 g)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt well. While the water boils, prep the kale by cleaning it and removing the stalky stems. Add the kale to the boiling water and cook for about 1 minute. Remove with tongs and shock it in an ice bath or under running it under very cold tap water when finished. If you are using the Italian kale pesto now, bring the water back up to a boil to cook the pasta.
- Drain kale well and wring out the extra water. If you are cooking pasta, do it now.
- In a food processor or with an immersion blender, blend the kale, toasted nuts, garlic, salt, parmesan cheese, if using, and olive oil together to get a smooth, even consistency. Test for salt and pepper.
- When the pasta is al dente, drain well, reserving a cup of the starchy cooking water.
- Toss the pasta with the Italian kale pesto, adding a bit of the pasta cooking water if it’s too dry or sticking together.
- Serve immediately with parmesan cheese or store the pesto in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days until ready to use.
Notes
Italian kale pesto can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Alternatively, you can also freeze Italian kale pesto for up to three months. You can do this in one big container or batch it into small portions using ice cube trays or zip lock freezer bags.
To keep Italian kale pesto from oxidizing and turning brown, cover it with a layer of plastic wrap, being sure the plastic wrap is touching the top of the kale pesto.
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