High Five for regional and seasonal products! I really like to work with veggies that are available from farms close by – I think it’s important to support local farmers and companies. In summer we have a lot of fruits and veggies that are available from local sources – in winter, on the other hand, this selection is reduced quite a bit. Basically only potatoes and cabbage in many versions ;P It’s sometimes a bit challenging, but I actually like cabbage. You can create delicious dishes with it. Kale, for example, is very versatile and got much more popular in the past few years. So… how about a simple and easy to prepare kale pesto with your next pasta? Sounds good?
Dishes with kale have a very long tradition here in Germany. Not the best reputation though. The US is a bit more forward-thinking here. Americans were much more inventive when it comes to kale. It’s used in salads, turned into juice and smoothies, dried or fried and turned into chips… and probably much more ;) Kale is healthy after all, there’s no arguing with that. Ok, maybe not that healthy anymore if it’s deep-fried, but otherwise, it is a great source of vitamin c, for example. In this pesto here, of course, the kale is processed raw, so all the vitamins and minerals are still in there and haven’t been cooked away. Some would call it a superfood, I just say delicious pesto that goes great with all kinds of pasta ;)
For a real pesto, you need, of course, a good cheese. There are quite some options here. I like to use Grana Padano for my pesto, but Parmesan or Gruyère would also work great here. Same for the pine nuts – you can use them as listed in the recipe, or you could replace them with walnuts or almonds. All fine. Well… and about the olive oil – here you should really use a very good cold-pressed olive oil. They tend to be a bit pricy, I know, but it’s really worth the extra penny. You will only get a good pesto if you use good olive oil… well and the nuts should not be old or rancid ;P Not even the kale could overpower that kind of flavors…
Anyway. The pesto can be used with many types of pasta – we like to use it with spaghetti or rigatoni. However, you can also use the pesto for other things… check this recipe here – you might be surprised where I used the pesto ;)
Oh… and you need a proper blender for the pesto, otherwise making it is no fun at all. For some pesto with parsley or basil, you might be able to get away with a large mortar, but kale leaves are quite robust and hard sometimes, so working with a mortar would require a lot of hard labor to get to a good result. If you need some extra workout feel free to go that route ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
7 oz. (200g) kale
3.5 oz. (100g) pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
3/4 cup (180ml) cold-pressed olive oil (plus more)
salt, pepper
2.8 oz. (80g) grana padano or parmesan cheese
200g Grünkohl
100g Pinienkerne
2 Knoblauchzehen
180ml kaltgepresstes Olivenöl (plus mehr)
Salz, Pfeffer
80g Grana Padano oder Parmesan
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. Roast the pine nuts in a pan without fat until fragrant. Remove from the heat and let cool down on a kitchen towel – leaving them in the pan can burn them even when taken off the heat. Peel the garlic and cut in half. Grate the cheese.
3. Add kale, roasted pine nuts, garlic, and cheese to a stand mixer. Add the olive oil and mix everything. Depending on how smooth you like the pesto, you can mix longer to get a very fine paste or mix a bit less to still have pieces of kale and nuts in the pesto. Season with salt and pepper and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
2. Die Pinienkerne in einer kleinen Pfanne ohne Fett anrösten, bis sie anfangen zu duften. Aus der Pfanne herausnehmen und abkühlen lassen – in der heißen Pfanne würden sie noch weiter rösten und evtl. verbrennen. Knoblauch schälen und halbieren. Grana Padano oder Parmesan fein reiben.
3. Den Grünkohl, die geröstete Pinienkerne, Knoblauch und den geriebenen Käse in einen Mixer geben. Das Olivenöl zugeben und mixen. Wer es fein mag, mixt länger, wer kleine Stückchen im Pesto mag, mixt weniger. Mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen. In einem luftdichten Gefäß im Kühlschrank etwa 1 Woche haltbar.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Simple & Easy Kale Pesto
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 00:00
- Total Time: 00:15
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Sauces
- Cuisine: American
Description
Simple and easy to prepare pesto in winter: Kale Pesto with pine nuts and Grana Padano. So good!
Ingredients
7 oz. (200g) kale
3.5 oz. (100g) pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
3/4 cup (180ml) cold-pressed olive oil (plus more)
salt, pepper
2.8 oz. (80g) grana padano or parmesan cheese
Instructions
1. Let the kale soak for several minutes in some water. Wash and clean with running water to get all the dirt off the kale. Let drain. Cut into small pieces and set aside.
2. Roast the pine nuts in a pan without fat until fragrant. Remove from the heat and let cool down on a kitchen towel – leaving them in the pan can burn them even when taken off the heat. Peel the garlic and cut in half. Grate the cheese.
3. Add kale, roasted pine nuts, garlic, and cheese to a stand mixer. Add the olive oil and mix everything. Depending on how smooth you like the pesto, you can mix longer to get a very fine paste or mix a bit less to still have pieces of kale and nuts in the pesto. Season with salt and pepper and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
Enjoy mixing!
I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
Tolle Idee! Haben wie ausprobiert und für gut befunden :)
Gab’s gleich an zwei aufeinander folgenden Abenden wegen Grünkohlüberschuss. “Klassisch” zubereitet mag ich den ja nicht, aber in der Variation mal schön anders :)
Freut mich wenn’s schmeckt! Grünkohl ist echt nicht jedermanns Sache – aber ich finde auch – in dieser Form sehr lecker :)
LG
Marc