Kale pesto Pasta

A bowl of green yumminess! Conchiglie Pasta with Kale pesto.

This recipe was from my sister – thanks Suba! 🙂 It’s a great way to use kale as it’s a very nutritious leafy veg but packs a punch with flavour! I have made this recipe with conchiglie pasta as it seems to be great for the pesto to stick to it but I also love using this pesto with linguine or spaghetti. Most other pasta varieties are good too! The peas add to the gorgeous green colouring that this dish brings but you can omit if you don’t like them and add something else. I love using black olives, rather than the green variety, as it gives a great contrast. Want to know more about kale? Click here.

This makes enough for about 10 servings.

Ingredients

• Toasted pine nuts, 90g
• parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), coarsely grated, 90g – plus extra to serve (optional)
• garlic cloves – 3
• extra-virgin olive oil, 120ml plus extra to serve
• kale 100g
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt – to taste (because the parmesan will be quite salty too)
• peas (frozen petit pois or fresh) – a handful or about 30g
• Black or green olives – however much you like!
• Pasta of your choice

Method:

1. Put the pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic, olive oil, kale and lemon juice in a food processor or hand blender and make into to a paste. Season with salt and whizz again.
2. Stir through hot pasta and add an extra topping of Parmesan and olive oil, if you wish. Enjoy your yummy green dish!

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. It freezes really well!