| Did a friend forward this to you? Sign up here. Winter pesto? Kale yeah! When I was growing up, I knew kale only as the curly leaves that served as decorative dividers inside grocery store meat and deli display cases. At some point, when I was a young adult, kale turned trendy, and I started seeing it on restaurant menus and in glossy cookbooks, baby food and in all kinds of packaged snacks. But those who keep a garden year-round know kale well. In the depths of winter, one of a gardeners' last spots of green will be the kale patch. "On a blustery winter day, it's not uncommon to find me out in the garden, brushing the snow off the kale I plan to fix for dinner," writes Marian Morash in "The Victory Garden Cookbook." Morash notes that kale can withstand a severe frost, and it's even easier to grow than cabbage. She supplies all kinds of ideas for what to do with it, but her strongest recommendation is to blanch the thick leaves in heavily salted water until they wilt but still hold their bite. Dressed with chile oil or lots of lemon juice, topped with a tadka or a fried egg, it makes a simple side dish or even brunch. But drop that blanched kale into a food processor or blender with garlic, nuts, olive oil and Parmesan cheese, and you've got a pesto made of winter's deepest green, full of round, bold flavors and a texture that's pleasantly velvety. It's great stirred into soup or risotto, makes a lush topping for crusty bread, can be stuffed into a sandwich, used as a marinade or drizzled atop roasts. But, as with pesto Genovese, it's an ideal sauce for pasta. The Italians knew this first, of course. Cavolo nero, or Tuscan kale, generally doesn't grow south of Rome. Like all kale, it's said to turn sweet right after a frost, when it's picked and then blanched, braised or turned into thick soups like ribollita and farinata di cavolo nero, a porridge-like dish with polenta and Tuscan kale. But we're after pesto di cavolo nero. It's an old Tuscan recipe, said to be popular when the season's fresh olive oil, pungent and green, makes an especially good marriage with the hardy leaves of cavolo nero. Countless cookbooks have published recipes for the saucy, cold-weather pesto. I found this recipe for kale pesto, below, buried in The Post's archives from 2008. It was adapted from one published in "The Real Dirt on Vegetables" by John Peterson, and its ingredients and method agree with all of the other variations on kale pesto I've seen over the years. And while it's ideal on pasta, don't let that stop you from using it to top your morning eggs or savory oatmeal, stirring it into soup or braised beans, adding a touch of white wine vinegar to turn it into a dressing for salads or using it as a dip for or drizzle atop roasted vegetables. 𧧠Next week is Lunar New Year, otherwise known as Tết, Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival. In case you missed it last week, Hetty McKinnon and Lisa Lin wrote all about the celebration. Next Tuesday's recipe features long, dried Chinese egg noodles (ideally e-fu or yi mein, though you could use any long egg noodle or linguine in a pinch) and dried black mushrooms, which you can find in well-stocked supermarkets, Asian markets and online. You may also want to pick up some fresh mushrooms. 𧧠 | Today's recipe |  Photos by Rey Lopez for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post | Kale Pesto - Tuscan or lacinato kale's dark green leaves make an especially eye-catching sauce >> but any kale or dark leafy green will work here. If you use tougher greens such as collards, you may need to blanch them for longer to be sure they're tender enough to puree.
- I like the bite of fresh garlic >> but you could tame its peppery punch by blanching it alongside the kale or sauteing it in some of the olive oil. Allow it to cool before proceeding with the recipe.
- Walnuts go well with kale >> but you could use pine nuts or any other kind of nut, or pumpkin seeds. You could also skip the nuts.
- The cheese adds lots of flavor here >> but to make this pesto vegan, omit it and add a tablespoon or more of nutritional yeast.
Want to save this recipe? View it on Voraciously here and click the bookmark icon below the serving size at the top of the page to add it to your Reading List. For easy printing and scaling, view this recipe in our Recipe Finder. Servings: 1 1/3 cups
Total time: 30 mins Ingredients - 2 quarts water
- 2 teaspoons fine salt, plus more as needed
- 8 ounces kale, preferably lacinato or Tuscan, thick stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/4 cup (1 ounce) chopped walnuts, toasted (see NOTE)
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
- 1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmesan, plus more as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper
Steps1. In a large pot over high heat, bring the water and salt to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, prepare an ice bath. 2. Add the kale to the boiling water and cook, uncovered, until tender, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer the kale to the prepared ice bath and let cool completely, then strain and, using your hands, squeeze as much water from it as possible. 3. In a food processor, combine the garlic, walnuts and kale and whiz until well combined. Pour in the oil in a steady stream, and pulse until a smooth puree forms. If the pesto seems too thick, add additional oil until it reaches your desired consistency. 4. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl and stir in the cheese. Taste, and season with additional cheese and/or salt, and pepper, if desired. Adapted from "The Real Dirt on Vegetables" by John Peterson (Gibbs Smith, 2006). Tested by G. Daniela Galarza and Kara Elder. Nutrition information per tablespoon: Calories: 73; Total Fat: 7 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Cholesterol: 2 mg; Sodium: 64 mg; Carbohydrates: 1 g; Dietary Fiber: 1 g; Sugars: 1 g; Protein: 1 g.  | Dessert | π§ "Nice Dream" by Radiohead.
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