Kale Pesto + Spelt Pasta

Hello :) Everyone is in love with kale at the moment, yeah? Cool. So you've been adding it to your omelettes, baking it into chips and adding it to your soups. All good so far? Well, what about adding some lovely steamed kale to your pesto for vibrancy and a super nutritious boost. I think yes!

Recipe: Kale Pesto (slightly adapted from I Quit Sugar Cookbook, Sarah Wilson)
Ingredients-
1 medium bunch kale, stalks removed and steamed
2 medium shallots, peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup parmesan
juice 1 lemon
handful toasted pine nuts (optional)
large handful of basil (optional)
Method-
Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender, and process until creamy and very well blended. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week. Or cover with a layer of oil and freeze.

Oh la la, look at that colour! I really enjoyed the taste, mixed with the parmesan, zesty lemon and olive oil, it's certainly not overwhelming. You wouldn't even know you were eating kale! Such an easy way to incorporate some more greens into your life, and you can't go wrong with pesto pasta!

As the title suggests, I served the pesto with some spelt pasta. First time I've tried it, and I'm impressed. Tastes pretty similar to regular wholemeal pasta, and you don't feel as full or blah after eating it, as I sometimes do after eating white pasta. I also added some pesto and also parmesan-stuffed olives, which oomphed up the flavour and are really quite delicious. They're from Molives, where I work on Saturday mornings at Orange Grove markets (5am wakeup fun times). 

Also! Bonus recipe! Don't have any kale or basil, but want to whizz up a quick creamy kind of pesto? Try blending half an avocado with toasted pine nuts or walnuts, parmesan, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. I found the recipe recently, and love it. Avocados are high in protein, so it's filling as well. That was tonight's dinner with spelt pasta and semi dried tomatoes. Yum :) 

Do you like making interesting kinds of pestos? 

Hannah x