Kale Pesto

Ever had a pesto made from kale? I set aside a bunch of kale from my CSA harvest basket so that I could make some of this very special pesto.

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Ingredient List for Kale Pesto

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1 Large Bunch Fresh Kale

1 Small Bunch Fresh Basil

1/2 Cup Asiago Cheese

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Raw Pine Nuts

3 Cloves Fresh Garlic

Fresh Ground Lemon Pepper

Optional - 1 T Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

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Method for Making Kale Pesto

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Carefully wash the kale leaves.

Remove and toss the hard, stringy stems from the center of each leaf. Then tear the leaves into pieces and spin dry.
Place the torn up leaves into a food processer. Pulse until the kale leaves are evenly ground.
Dump the ground up kale into a bowl.
Next, process the basil. After washing and drying, remove the stems and pulse the basil leaves in the food processor until they are well ground. Add them to the bowl with the processed kale.
Place the pine nuts and garlic cloves into the food processor and pulse to about the same consistency as the kale and basil leaves, then add to the bowl.
Grate the cheese and add it to the mixture in the measuring bowl.

Grind a little lemon pepper over the processed ingredients in the bowl and gently fold the olive oil into the mixture.

Put it all back into the food processor and process until the entire mixture is nearly pureed.

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How to Use Kale Pesto

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Make a pizza crust and spread it with this pesto. Top with sliced vegetables - roasted garlic cloves, sliced zucchini, onion and tomato. Then, sprinkle with a little grated asiago cheese, scatter crumbled goat cheese over it all and bake. One pizza will make several meals for an individual - or, more fun yet, call up a friend and share.

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One bunch of kale makes a lot of pesto so make a batch of homemade whole wheat noodles and serve those noodles with kale pesto. Spread a tortilla with the kale pesto. Add some ham, onion and tomato slices and call it a wrap! I like to put some of it in my freezer to look forward to using later, after kale is no longer available in the markets. What a treat that is!

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Health Benefits of Kale

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The health benefits of kale in our diets are tremendous! One cup of kale provides almost twice our daily requirement of vitamin A, almost all of the vitamin C required for one day and 1,300% of our daily requirement of vitamin K. While that is a lot of vitamins, Kale offers us even more health benefits!

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Kale contains a number of compounds that have a lot to do with keeping our body strong, healthy and free from damage. Kale contains phytonutrients. These are natural compounds that help remove free radicals from our body before they cause cell damage. They send messages that prompt our genes to increase enzymes in the body to fight off potentially harmful carcinogens.

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Kale is full of fiber to help keep our digestive system running smoothly. One cup of cooked kale offers 10% of our daily requirement of fiber. If it's served fresh, a kale pesto spread on a tortilla for example, it provides even a larger percentage of our daily fiber requirement.

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Kale produces sulforaphane, a natural cancer fighter that signals the liver to produce cancer-fighting enzymes. Eating kale is said to help prevent and lower our risk of getting colon cancer, lung cancer, prostate and breast cancer.

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Kale contains lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids that help protect our eyes from ultraviolet light. Kale also helps to prevent cataracts as our eyes age.

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One cup of kale per week is enough to protect our bodies against some of the diseases caused by aging. It can literally slow down the hands of time.

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Isn't kale one absolutely amazing vegetable?

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