Collard Green Pesto with Kalamata Olives

     Not your traditional pesto...but then again basil can be so expensive when it's not in season. So all the more reason to use collar greens — they're cheap and they'll last you a lot longer. I like this recipe because it's a good way to use up any greens that have been sitting in the fridge and have lost a bit too much of their luster. Blitz them up and no one will ever know that they were on their way to the compost bin, at least not after you add garlic, lemon juice, kalamata olives and some quality olive oil.

     Because this pesto is so much cheaper than a normal basil pesto, you don't feel so guilty having extra sauce, after all we've got to get our greens in somewhere.

Serves: 4-10 (makes about 750mL)

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 small bunch of collard greens (about 600g with stems)
• 1/3 cup walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 2 cloves of garlic, inner leaf stem removed 
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice, about half a lemon, juiced
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. In a large pot of boiling water, blanch collards about 2 minutes, or until bright green.
2. Once blanched, cut away the stems, if not already done, and give the collards a rough chop.
3. Toss collards in a food processor with all the other ingredients (yes it's that easy!), starting with the lower quantities of oil and water.
4. Blend on low to begin, then transition to a higher speed as the pesto starts coming together.
5. Add more oil and water until desired texture is obtained.
6. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Snow Pea and Sunflower Seed Pesto

I made recipe the other night and it turned out extra yummy. I wanted something different, something nutty. So, working off a basic pesto recipe, I made a snow pea, oregano and sunflower seed pesto and served it on gnocchi. Definitely not your usual Monday night pasta dish.
We only made one package of gnocchi, but we also had the pesto for leftovers with fettuccine  so there is enough pesto here for around 4 servings, depending on how much sauce you like. I added a tablespoon of pumpkin seed butter to round out the protein in the dish since it's a complete protein source, and it is also high in iron and a source of antioxidants. Sunflower seeds are also an excellent source of essential fatty acids, especially omega-6 fatty acids. So yay us on getting in some yummy extra nutrients. You guys might not really care what nutrients are in what, but nutrition is a passion of mine, so I have a tendency to think about my ingredients nutrient wise when I am cooking with them. Knowledge doesn't hurt, right?


Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 packages of gnocchi, or pasta for 4
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
optional-1 Tbsp pumpkin seed butter
2-3 cloves garlic
2 cup snow peas, washed
1 Tbsp packed fresh oregano (or thyme)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, the good stuff
Fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste

Preparation

Toast the seeds until they smell toasty in a frying pan on medium heat.

Transfer toasted nuts and to a food processor. And pulse until crumbly.

Add pumpkin seed butter and pulse again until combined. 

Blanch snow peas in boiling water for around 15 seconds.

Add blanched snow peas, oregano, and salt and water to the blender and puree until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.

Add the olive oil and mix until well combined, then add the nutritional yeast and the lemon juice and mix again.
If you desire a thinner product, add more water or olive oil, and mix well.
Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook gnocchi as directed on package. 
Drain when cooked(don’t rinse, it needs the starch to stick), and sauce with pesto.

Enjoy