Kale and Pistachio Pesto
Kale and Pistachio Pesto is the best pesto I have ever had! It’s so creamy and flavourful, made with roasted garlic and perfect for a dip, your pasta or on anything!
To say it’s been an eventful week would be the understatement of the year for me. First off, thank you to everyone for your well wishes, like, really, thank you. I’ve read every single one and I’m getting to replying – but it’s like I can’t catch a break since I’ve been engaged! You may have noticed I didn’t post a food post on Friday or Saturday, and while I could be honest and say I’ve been too busy staring at my hand to look up, I will say I just really really busy with life.
Let’s go with that.
A Hearty Twist on Traditional Pesto!
If you’ve been here for a while, you know I love pesto. The issue is I don’t post as many pesto recipes as I make but I realised that if I loved them you may love them too! Pesto is this kind of green magical sauce that makes everything it touches ten times better.
Living in Jamaica, I tend to opt for pestos without basil (unless I buy it pre-made) since basil is imported and doesn’t grow here, meaning it’s a wee bit more expensive. No bueno. Plus, I love using the freshest ingredients I can in anything I make and kale is always an option. When I break pesto down, it’s greens, nuts, olive oil and seasoning of your choice – you realise the world of possibilities that are available?!
For this pesto I wanted something different from my usual pine nuts and greens, and the pack of pistachios was just screaming at me. Okay, not literally. Whoa.
Kale Pesto with Pistachio Is Easy and Flavorful
I was attracted to the pistachios because of the green-on-green concept, and trust me, it worked out perfectly. I have never had a pesto I’ve loved so much – so much that after writing this I’m going to make more to put on some pasta (yummmm.) It’s creamy of course, the natural oil in the nuts plus the olive oil helps with that. But then the flavour is out of this world (could this possibly be my most favourite phrase?) I can eat a bag of pistachios like a champ but creamed up?? Why have I never thought of this! All the flavours seem to marry together SO well and you’re left with a pesto that’s all up to your imagination and that you want to put on everything, which is exactly what I did.
I have to touch on the “elephant” in the room, the roasted garlic. Mr. Bakes and I were making roasted potato cubes and were going garlic to the pesto and thought hey, why not roast the garlic? 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes creates this masterpiece, then we went back and roasted an entire garlic head the next day after falling in love with the flavour. I didn’t include this in the making time because you don’t have to do it, but it enhances the flavour so much. It can also be done from the day before, then added to the pesto. I honestly think this is why it was the best pesto ever.
What’s on your agenda this Monday? I’m trying to make the world a better place by eating more greens aka more pesto for days. Aren’t I kind?
If you loved this kale and pistachio pesto, you’ll definitely love my parsley pesto!
Why not try pesto in this caprese sandwich!
Want more spreads and dips? Check out my recipe index for more!
Pistachio Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste
- 2 ½ cups fresh basil leaves, loosely packed ,washed and de-stemmed
- ¼ cup de-shelled pistachios, if you can’t find de-shelled you can do them yourself
- ¼ cup vegan parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, (optional)
Instructions
Mortar and Pesto Instructions
- In a mortar and pestle, grind the garlic with the fine sea salt until it becomes a paste.
- Add in the fresh basil leaves in two batches, pounding and grinding until the basil is blended into the garlic, which will take about 3-4 minutes.
- Add in the pistachios, pounding until broken up into smaller pieces and then grinding to blending into the basil. Feel free to use a spoon or a spatula to help stir the mix together.
- Add in your vegan parmesan cheese and mix in thoroughly. If adding in ground black pepper add it here and grind to incorporate it too.
- Slowly drizzle in 2 tablespoons of your olive oil into your pesto to thoroughly combine, until pesto reaches your desired consistency.
- Pour in the rest of your olive oil and using a spoon, stir everything together.
- Feel free to add more olive oil if you want a more runny consistency, or more nuts if you want a thicker pesto.
Food Processor Instructions
- Add garlic, sea salt and pistachios to a food processor and pulse until combined, scraping down the sides after each pulses, for about 1 minute.
- Add the basil, vegan parmesan and optional pepper next and continue to pulse until combined, for about 1-2 more minutes. Slowly drizzle in your olive oil will pulsing or with your food processor on low to thoroughly incorporate. Feel free to add more olive oil if you want a more runny consistency, or more nuts if you want a thicker pesto.
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Jessica, this looks so wonderful and sounds quite healthy! Congrats on your engagement!!! What a happy and exciting time for you (:
Thanks Connie !
Aww thank you so much Connie!! 🙂
Just made this and it was fabulous! I made it minus the pine nuts and added it to spaghetti squash. So tasty! Thank you:)
So glad to hear that Keely you’re so welcome!!
I need to try this ASAP! I’ve made pesto with basil and spinach but never kale. I usually make big batches and then freeze some in ice cube trays to pop out and use later. Pesto is one of my sure-fire ways to get my preschooler to eat greens (I tell her it’s Leprechaun sauce! haha). Thanks for the inspiration!!
You’re welcome amber! Love the ice cube idea!
Thanks Jessica. Made today and it is delish!!! I added a little nutritional yeast out of pesto making habit. It is so yummy. I too do large batches and use a couple ice cube trays for later. Works and tastes great!! Thanks!
You’re welcome Laurie! Love the NY addition.