If you were to believe everything you read about Kale then I am sure you would not only be stuffing mounds of it down your throat everyday but probably also bathing in it and possibly trying to hook it up intravenously 🙂 The health food industry seems to move from the alter of worship of one “Super” food to another and not only is it fairly ridiculous – it’s also incorrect. There is no one food that will save your life – especially if it doesn’t taste nice! Balance in all things! Personally I am a big fan of Michael Pollan’s ethos which is:
Sound simple right – well it is. Don’t buy into all the fads and promises and just focus on nutrient dense plant based goodness – with a few extra special goodies thrown for good measure.
Kale is one of those foods that everyone went cray cray about and some of the jokes that fly about on social media are truly hilarious, like:
Or another goodie:
Regardless of all the nutrients that kale contains – and it definitely does pack some punch – it can really taste delicious! A single cup of raw kale (about 70g thereabouts) contains:
- Vitamin A: 206% of the RDA (from beta-carotene).
- Vitamin K: 684% of the RDA.
- Vitamin C: 134% of the RDA.
- Vitamin B6: 9% of the RDA.
- Manganese: 26% of the RDA.
- Calcium: 9% of the RDA.
- Copper: 10% of the RDA.
- Potassium: 9% of the RDA.
- Magnesium: 6% of the RDA.
- Then it contains 3% or more of the RDA for Vitamin B1 (Thiamin), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Iron and Phosphorus.
Thats pretty impressive! But back to the tasty part – this pesto is really & truly delicious – and dressed over a plate of wholemeal pasta or even brown rice is a perfect meal on its own or accompaniment. It is also a great spread for your sourdough or rye toast and works well with poached eggs and slices of tomato. I have also spread it over baked hake & chicken or dressed a tray of roasted veggies with it as a warm heart salad… use your imagination!
Ingredients
85g kale – with the hard stalk part removed – leaving just the leafy part
70g pine nuts, lightly toasted
80g parmesan (or other hard cheese like pecorino or gran padana or vegetarian alternative), coarsely grated, plus extra to serve (optional)
3 garlic cloves minced
80ml olive oil
juice 1 lemon
Wholemeal spaghetti , to serve
Method
Put the pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic, oils, kale and lemon juice in a food processor and whizz to a paste. Season to taste. Stir through hot pasta to serve, topping with extra Parmesan and olive oil, if you like.
To store, put in a container or jar, cover the surface with a little more olive oil and keep in the fridge for a week, or freeze for up to a month.
