Kale and Almond Pesto

Traditional recipe and also with the Bimby.
Today I present to you the kale and almond pesto, to dress pasta or even crostini and bruschetta.
I personally recommend pairing this pesto with white meat as well, you’ll see that your roast will acquire an extra touch.
But do you know the properties of kale?
There are other good reasons to love it, it contains no cholesterol, provides about 49 calories per 100 grams of product, has decongestant, purifying, diuretic, antioxidant, and laxative properties, be careful not to cook it too long, it could have the opposite effect (astringent).
In particular, the antioxidant properties of kale, according to experts, make it particularly useful in the prevention of numerous forms of cancer (breast, colon, rectum, stomach, prostate, and bladder cancer, as well as in the treatment of ulcerative colitis and gastric ulcer.
When talking about kale, the right season to consume it is definitely its harvest season, which starts in autumn and continues throughout the winter months, sometimes extending to the beginning of spring.

Kale and almond pesto is part of my collection of pestos, sauces, and creams for dressing pasta, click here to see.

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Difficulty: Very Easy
Cost: Very Economical
Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Portions: 4
Cooking methods: Boiling
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring

290.23 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 290.23 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 4.26 (g) of which sugars 2.18 (g)
Proteins 8.17 (g)
Fat 27.48 (g) of which saturated 5.29 (g)of which unsaturated 1.54 (g)
Fibers 2.49 (g)
Sodium 195.94 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 85 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients

Let’s go shopping

7 oz kale (net weight)
2 oz Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (grated or choose Pecorino Romano)
1.75 oz blanched almonds
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic (without the germ)
to taste salt
to taste dried chilies (if you like)

Tools

What we need to make

1 Pot or the Bimby
1 Blender or the Bimby
1 Knife
1 Cutting board

Steps

How to clean kale

To prepare kale pesto, first clean the kale by separating the leaves from the central stalk
Then, with a knife, separate the two leaf flaps from the central part.
The part we need is the outer part, while the central part can be used for making soups or broths.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the leaves for 3-5 minutes.
After the time has passed, drain the leaves and squeeze them.
Transfer the blanched kale to a blender. Add the grated cheese, almonds, garlic without the germ, salt, and chili pepper.
Add half of the oil and start blending.
While the blender is running, pour in the rest.
Continue to blend until the mixture is smooth and homogeneous. If you’re going to freeze it, I recommend not adding the cheese immediately but adding it later.
After cleaning and cutting the kale as described above, put 500 g of water in the bowl, put the cleaned and cut kale in the basket.
Cook for 8-10 min. at 212°F (100°C) speed spoon with the measuring cup.
,
At the end of cooking, drain the kale and let it cool, both the kale and the bowl.
As soon as both are cold, put the squeezed kale leaves in the bowl along with the rest of the ingredients and blend for 2 min. speed 8.
Gather with the spatula and repeat the operation.
Here it is, Kale and Almond Pesto is ready.