Your New Summer Pesto
You know you're ready for this.
If you only had room to grow one vegetable, make it kale. Kale is one of those magical crops that grows easily, continues to produce all summer long, lasts through the winter (literally still giving sweet leaves when half covered in snow) and returns, more often than not, the following year for yet another show. A significant corner of my garden is a mixture of kale varieties that are probably in their third year. This spring the plants flowered like crazy (the flowers are edible and so tasty in salad or a sauté). With the blooms cut off, my plants have finally gotten too leggy with enormous stems so it was time to pull them out and replant. In doing so, I was forced to use heaps of leaves all at once and thus made batches of my go-to kale-basil pesto.
I’ve been adding kale to pesto for awhile now, mostly as a mom trick to get some leafy greens into my pesto-loving kids. It’s a heartier version, both in flavor and texture. It tastes like the garden, the earth, the green grass on a summer day. For the recipe that follows, I’ve added both nutritional yeast for it’s great umami notes (but feel free to use grated pecorino or parmesan if you prefer) and pistachios since they are buttery, sweet, and meaty (again, just about any nut can be subbed here).
The choice of pasta shape is yours. Trofie is one of my favorites and a classic with pesto but if you really want a showstopper, seek out Croxetti (also called Corzetti). I first fell in love with this large, round, coin-like pasta while staying in Liguria (the home of pesto). It seemed to be in every little grocer and on all the restaurant menus- I couldn’t resist it. It’s hard to say why one likes a certain pasta shape- is it the mouthfeel when eating? Are we perceiving the taste of the pasta differently because of the shape itself? Texture, consistency, thickness, even the look on the plate all seem to factor into our experience and enjoyment of the pasta. For me, croxetti is so fun and satisfying to eat. They are made by cutting rounds from pasta dough then imprinting texture with a wooden stamp (originally a coin was used!). I spent that Ligurian trip looking for those stamps everywhere, never found one, but came home and ordered one from Amazon (haha). Making croxetti from scratch is not simple (although it is very gratifying) but pesto made like this in a food processor takes no time at all. Here’s hoping it will become a part of your summer pesto repertoire.
Croxetti with Kale-Pistachio Pesto
Serves 4-6
4 oz pistachios (about 1 cup)
5 oz kale leaves, stems removed
1 oz basil sprigs, stems removed (1 cup packed leaves)
1 garlic clove
2 teaspoons coarse salt
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil (use regular olive oil or cut with some grapeseed oil if your evoo is on the full bodied/bitter side)
1 pound pasta, I love croxetti but almost any shape, long or short would do
Pulse pistachios in food processor until finely chopped but still chunky. Remove from food processor and set aside. (No need to clean bowl of food processor.)
Blend kale, basil, garlic, and salt in the food processor until finely chopped. Add nutritional yeast and, with the food processor running, slowly pour in olive oil.
Quickly pulse in pistachios to keep them chunky. Transfer pesto to a large bowl.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Using a strainer, transfer pasta to the bowl with the pesto (it’s ok if some pasta water is clinging to the pasta). Stir well to combine.
Add more pasta water to the bowl if needed so that the pasta is well coated with pesto. Serve immediately.
Storage: If you are only making 1/2 pound of pasta, use half the amount of pesto and freeze the rest (for up to 3 months) for the next batch!
YUM!
A pesto with pistachios feels extra fancy!