Cheap & Tasty Kale Pesto

I don’t know why I’ve not thought to do this before now.  I spent five pretty fun years working in a funky restaurant in my late teens where one of my favourite things to eat was a grilled cheese sammich with pesto…and somehow I have not had one since.  Really?!

How did this happen?!

Probably because I’m too cheap frugal to make real basil pesto and it’s not something I think would be good from a jar. 

I’ve made spinach pesto in the past so I thought kale would probably work too.  Turns out I’m right…it’s super yumm-o!  Of course, it also turns out that I did indeed see the idea on Pinterest, so I can’t claim full recognition for this genius idea.  Dammit.

But at the very least I whipped up my recipe before I looked at my boards and confirmed my suspicions that I truly don’t have any original ideas. :)

Kale and Almond Pesto

yields 8 servings, 1/4 cup each

inspired by Raw Food Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch fresh kale, washed, trimmed from stems, and torn into large pieces (approximately 8 loose cups)
• 1/4 cup whole almonds, pan toasted
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• juice and zest of half a lemon
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup pecorino cheese, grated (parmesan or asiago would work too!)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• optional: pinch of cayenne

Directions:

1. Using a food processor or good blender chop the almonds.  Remove and set aside.  In the same processor chop the kale. 
2. Add the almonds back to the processor along with the minced garlic, lemon juice and zest, a liberal sprinkle of salt and pepper, and cayenne (if using).  Whirl in processor until well minced and mixed. 
3. Set processor to low speed and drizzle in olive oil slowly to saturate.  Scrape down sides if necessary, then add grated cheese and whirl just to combine.

Note:  I kept the olive oil quantity light to help keep the calories down, but if you want a true wet pesto add more oil.

MyFitnessPal tells me this recipe works out to around 135 calories per serving.

Personally I think the almonds are what make this work, but the fresh, rich taste of the kale lends itself quite well to the mix too!  Whatever it is I think I might like it better than regular pesto.  It’s probably because almonds and kale are a fraction the cost of basil and pine nuts.  Cheaper tastes better!

Now my mind is spinning with ideas for this bowl of green goodness.

Start by mixing a large scoop of the pesto with a spoonful of olive oil mayo, then slather it on your favourite bread (you know mine was Squirrelly) with a layer of old white cheddar and make yourself the bestest grilled cheese EVER.

Yes, EVER.  Possibly better than that dreamy sammich of my teen years.

What are your favourite uses for pesto?

I plan to make pasta with goat cheese, pesto bean dip, and about six more of those sandwiches.

Snack of the Moment: Kale Chips

You can call me late to this particular health foodie party.  Kale chip recipes have made the food blog rounds many times and somehow I never grabbed on to the idea until now. I finally remembered to buy kale, remembered to use said kale, and indeed found myself a fun new snack addiction.

A Twitter survey revealed that the top favourite kale chip toppers are seemingly:  nutritional yeast, cayenne, and sea salt (not necessarily all together!).  I’ve yet to venture on into the health food store to find the ever popular nutritional yeast but I did embrace the other two seasonings and a couple of mix-ups of my own.

Kale Chips Round One: Sesame Soy

• low sodium soy sauce
• rice vinegar
• olive oil
• sesame oil (just a few drops will do ya)
• cayenne
• coarse sea salt
• toasted sesame seeds

Kale Chips Round Two:  Lemon Parmesan

• fresh lemon juice (citrus helps us absorb the yummy kale vitamins!)
• white wine vinegar
• olive oil
• dried Italian herbs
• coarse sea salt
• cracked pepper
• fresh grated parmesan cheese

Kale Chips Round Three: Balsamic Rosemary

• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• lots of coarse sea salt
• minced fresh rosemary

Clearly it’s a drizzle of this and a pinch of that…no strict recipe required.  Just wash and dry your bunch of kale, remove the stems and cut away any tough veins, tear into bite size pieces, and mix in your ingredients.

A few tips though:

1. Remember to cut out the coarse stem from the kale leaves.  It tastes like tree bark (or so I would think!).
2. If you want a drier, crispier chip keep the liquid ingredients reigned in.  Too much oil will give you a chewier, more wilty chip.
3. Massage your marinade into the torn kale leaves by hand.  Thus ensuring equal coating and distribution of fun flavours.
4. Although you can do a fast bake of these babies at 375 degrees or so, I like to slow bake mine at a super low temp for about 60 minutes.  (Lowest temp on my oven is 180 degrees).
5. Providing you don’t eat them all within minutes of removing them from the oven, these chippies keep quite nicely in a zipper bag.

What’s your favourite kale chip flavour combo?  It seems to me that the possibilities are truly endless.