Kale / Pistachio Pesto

Crunchy, herby, tasty.

I bought too many pistachios a very long time ago for some recipe. The remainder have been sitting in my freezer ever since. An unknown number of months and one move later, I decided it was time to find another pistachio recipe. I landed on this Food Network recipe for pesto with kale and pistachios.

I pretty much followed the recipe except for increasing the amount of garlic. One clove of garlic in a pesto recipe? Blasphemy.

If I weren't spoiled by the creamy, delicious wonder that is Spinach/Avocado Pesto, I would probably make this my new go-to pesto recipe. But alas, that one's still better. And now that I'm used to avocado pesto, this one was just so un-creamy in comparison. It's kind of clumpy and has a little bit of crunch. The kale doesn't get melty the way basil and spinach do, and then you add pistachios into the mix, and it's less creamy even than your standard non-avocado pestos.

Was there life before food processors? I love mine.

As a result, I think this pesto would be fabulous on meat. Maybe serve a dollop on some chicken or steak? Or put it in a sandwich? I don't think I'll repeat this recipe on pasta, but it's surely a keeper for other uses.

Don't skip the parsley... this really tied the flavors together and gave it punch. I was surprised at how deliciously the flavors work together here.

The Recipe:

1 bunch kale, stemmed

3 tb roasted, salted pistachios

4 cloves garlic

1 c flat-leaf parsley

1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil

2 tb parmesan

1 tb lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Steam the kale and roughly chop it
Put all ingredients except olive oil and parmesan in food processor and finely chop it together
With the food processor running, drizzle in olive oil until it reaches the desired consistency
Add the parmesan and pulse until combined

The Verdict:

Overall grade: B+

Overall reason: Outstanding flavor but I wanted it to be creamier for pasta

Time to prepare: 15 minutes

Husband quote: "This tastes really good but I like the texture of the other one better." (He said this before I told him what I thought. It's unanimous.)

Comments

Kitchen renovation!

BEFORE: AFTER: Still to come: a beautiful new induction range and some wood shelving on the left side, above the backsplash. And maybe the shelving unit on the wall facing the cabinets should be green, but we're going to live with a while before making that decision.

Red lentil dal

Cucumber salad is key. This dal is perfect. Most of us took seconds, and I'm really excited to eat the last portion that's sitting in the fridge right now. The accompanying salad is really great for adding texture, crunch, and acidity to the meal. I wouldn't skip it. I got it from Tea for Turmeric and prepared it pretty much as written, but doubled and with none of the optional ingredients. This recipe doesn't mention any seasoning/dressing on the salad, but adding lemon and salt to it really brightened things up. The Recipe: (from Tea for Turmeric) 2 c red lentils splash of avocado oil 2 tsp cumin seeds 2 small onions, finely chopped 1 inch ginger, grated 4 small tomatoes, chopped 2 thai chilies, minced 2 tsp cumin powder 2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp turmeric 2+ tsp kosher salt 2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 c cilantro, chopped For serving: basmati rice and plain yogurt Salad ingredients: 1/2 english cucumber, sliced 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered 1/4 onion, slic...

Curry Fried Rice

Excited for these leftovers. One of the things I wanted to try with my new jar of curry powder was fried rice. Years ago, Miles got fried rice at Korea House and it was the best fried rice I'd ever had. I suspected there was curry powder in it, but at that time I had never really cooked with curry powder, so I tucked that knowledge away for a later date. After reading a few recipes, I went rogue on this one. I couldn't even begin to effectively guess at what proportions I ended up with, so the recipe below is more of a rough guideline of ingredients. The "Recipe" (sorry no quantities; follow your heart): leftover jasmine rice tofu, cubed and crisped in the oven with avocado oil and salt vegetables: garlic, onion, cabbage, red bell pepper salt curry powder (I used a Vietnamese one) soy sauce sugar sesame oil future topping ideas: runny egg, sesame seeds, green onion Saute the vegetables in avocado oil until softened, and salt them to taste Add the tofu and toss to...

Adventures of a healthy-ish pseudo-foodie

Search This Blog