I've been craving green food lately, which led me to grab a big bunch of green kale while shopping. I went searching food sites to see if there was something besides kale chips, which I've had and love, but I wanted something with a lot of green and nutrients.
Kale is packed with vitamins and minerals. And I love that both the lemon and kale are alkaline-producing foods, helping us to lower acidity and inflammation in the body. Here's one chart I found that can help you find more alkaline foods. Not all food I eat is alkaline, but I try to find a happy balance of acid and alkaline foods on a daily basis. An easy way to do this is eat a lot of greens.
You can add the pesto to cauliflower rice, soups and roasted vegetables, or even baked fish or chicken.
To make this a diary-free pesto, replace the Parmesan cheese with about ¼ cup of pine nuts plus a ⅛ teaspoon of salt. Or try my dairy-free pesto using basil and walnuts.
Kale Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Kale stalks removed, about 6 stalks or 8 ounces
- 2 shallots trimmed and peeled; you can sub with green onions
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or more if you like it tangy
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese see notes on making this dairy free
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add about 4 cups of water to a saucepan and bring to a steady low boil. Alternatively, you can set up a steamer to steam the kale.
- Turn the heat off and add the garlic, shallots, and kale to the boiling water for just a minute or two, and then remove them using a slotted spoon or tongs.
- If you're making pasta to go along with the pesto, leave the water boiling and add the pasta now.
- Place the garlic, kale, shallots, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender, and process until creamy and very well blended.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. I usually add more lemon juice instead of salt. Up to you though.
- Now you're ready to use the pesto, or you can store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Malu says
I love this! What a great way to eat kale!
Amanda Peterson says
This looks wonderful! My kids love basil pesto and I'm confident that they will give this a try if I don't volunteer the main ingredient...What is the serving size (on its own) and how many servings does it make?
Erica says
I estimated it at 4 servings but it would depend on what you use it for. Hope that helps. Thanks!
Scott says
Awesome Website! Simple ingredients and simple preparation...somehow i think it used to be that way and we were steered away from it? Thanks for your efforts. If you are not already familiar, you should look into the Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates. Dr. Mercola is a great source too! Also a documentary about Dr. Burzynski is worthwhile!
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/17/why-does-the-us-have-the-highest-rate-of-cancer-in-the-world.aspx
Polly Gamwich says
Hi there,
I am a HUGE fan of Kale and all greens! I do a pesto with collard greens that's very similar. Another recipe that I love with Kale (that's hearty, like your post mentioned) is a kale salad: tear into bite size pieces, cut and add red bell pepper and onion, mix with dash of lemon juice and guacamole ... it's substantial and it's tasty and it's different! Enjoy!
Erica says
Yum. Love your salad idea!
amy says
I am wondering why you boil the kale, shallots, and garlic for a minute?! This does look very good!
Erica says
Just to soften it a bit. The kale is very course and blanching it (essentially what you're doing) changes the flavor slightly and softens it so it's more like spinach in texture.
amy says
Ahhh. Thanks! I am going to make this w/my sis! My husband is not too adventurous when it comes to food! Kale is pretty strong!
Erica says
You'll find that blanching it takes the slight bitter taste out of the kale, and then the lemon and garlic dominate the flavor. Enjoy!
Sophie says
Your kale pesto looks divine!! I also love kale, called krul kool in Dutch!
MMMMMM,...That vibrant green is looking so tasty!
Erica says
Krul kool - very cool 🙂