Kale and Almond Pesto

Traditional recipe and also with Bimby.
Today I present kale and almond pesto, to season pasta or even croutons and bruschetta.
I personally recommend pairing this pesto with white meat, you’ll see that your roast will gain 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 overcook it, as 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 cancer forms (breast, colon, rectal, stomach, prostate, and bladder cancer, but also in the treatment of ulcerative colitis and gastric ulcer.
When it comes to kale, the right season to consume it is undoubtedly its harvest period, which starts in autumn and continues throughout the winter months, sometimes extending into early spring.

Kale and almond pesto is part of my collection of pestos, sauces, and creams to season 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 cups Parmigiano Reggiano PDO (grated or pecorino romano of your choice)
1.75 oz blanched almonds
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic (de-germed)
to taste salt
to taste dried chili peppers (if you like)

Tools

What we need

1 Pot or Bimby
1 Immersion Blender
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 stem
Then use a knife to separate the two sides of the leaf from the central part.
The part we need is the outer part, while the central part can be used for creamy soups or minestrone.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the leaves for 3-5 minutes.
After the time is up, drain the leaves and squeeze them.
Transfer the blanched kale to a blender. Add the grated cheese, almonds, de-germed garlic, salt, and chili pepper
Add half of the oil and start blending.
While the mixer is running, pour in the rest
And continue blending until the mixture is smooth and homogeneous. If you plan to freeze it, I recommend not adding the cheese immediately, but adding it later.
After cleaning and chopping the kale as described above, place 500 g of water in the Bimby bowl, place the cleaned and chopped kale in the basket.
Cook for 8-10 min at 212°F (100°C) spoon speed with the measuring cup.
.
At the end of cooking, drain the kale and let both it and the bowl cool.
As soon as both are cool, put the squeezed kale leaves in the bowl along with the other ingredients and blend for 2 min. speed 8.
Gather with the spatula and repeat the operation.
Here, the Kale and Almond Pesto is ready.
and here’s a great plate of spaghetti with
Kale and Almond Pesto