So, I will admit that I’ve been quite remiss about posting lately.  Let me make that up to you with some pesto.

I’m a sucker for pesto. It’s is one of those delicious foods that improves a wide variety of dishes.  Spread it on a sandwich, swap it out for tomato sauce to make a delicious pizza, or toss it with some pasta. Lots of heart healthy ingredients – olive oil, nuts, kale, etc.

My go to pesto is a basil pesto with pine nuts – this combination results in a rich, smooth pesto.  However, I had some leftover kale, and pine nuts are annoyingly expensive. So, I came up with this recipe.  The substitution of these two ingredients results in a hardier pesto with more texture.  Toss it with some whole grain pasta and a veggie or meat of your choice and top it with some freshly grated Parmesan, and voila!

Kale and Almond Pesto

• 2 cups basil, chopped
• 2 cups kale, chopped
• ¾ cup almonds
• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ground pepper

Combine the basil, kale, almonds, and garlic in a food processor.  Pulse until coarsely ground.  Turn the food processor to ‘on’ and drizzle in olive oil until combined.  Transfer to a medium bowl and mix in the Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.

Tip 1: If you have leftover pesto, place the pesto into a bowl, and place plastic wrap directly onto the pesto.  Exposure to air turns the pesto an unsightly dark green. Also, this tastes best made fresh same day – so make sure to indulge up front.

Tip 2: In the spring, buy a basil plant and grow your own basil! If you have some outdoor space, it thrives with lots of sun and water with very little maintenance, and costs the same as buying a tiny little (and not so fresh) packet in a store.