super greens pesto

happy easter to everyone. usually i find myself traveling here or there, visiting family and friends over the holidays, but this weekend i was able to stay around our home with the family and cook a lot of great eats! i have so many recipes and ideas to share!!

influenced by my most recent trip to st. louis and the massive st. louis farmer's market, i decided i needed to make some sort of pesto to toss with some fresh spring peas and pasta. i scanned over the contents of our fridge...half a bundle of fresh kale, baby spinach, scallions, and some fresh basil...perfect! i immediately went to work filling up my food processor. with the addition of some fresh garlic, parmesan, a little lemon zest, a small handful of macadamia nuts, and some beautiful organic sunflower oil from pulaski wisconsin-it was a done deal.

a side note on the ingredients- the sunflower oil adds this great nutty flavor, and with the seeds carefully harvested, stored, and processed in a small facility in rural wisconsin, it's hard not to want to use this product. it will soon be available at the co-op. the macadamia nuts were sent to us from a friend in hawaii, so the freshness and richness is unbeatable, and all of the greens were fresh from the co-op which means they're organic and brimming with flavor!

i tossed the 'super greens' pesto with fresh spring peas and pasta, but please go out on a limb and try different variations. this pesto would be great tossed with fresh steamed asparagus or green beans, roasted baby potatoes, or even as a dressing for a simple salad of cherry tomatoes and greens. i also think the pesto would make a great topping on toasted or grilled bread with a slather of fresh goat cheese. i'm already thinking about making some kind of chicken salad with the leftovers, which would pair great with that bottle of pinot gris in the fridge! the possibilities are endless!


super greens pesto:

1/2 bunch kale
2 cups spinach
1/2 bunch scallions
2 cups fresh basil
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sunflower oil
lemon zest, salt, & pepper to taste

place all ingredients except the oil in a food processor. process the ingredients until things start to blend together well, about 1 minute. scrape down the sides of the processor, and with the processor running, slowly drizzle in the sunflower oil. taste your pesto, and adjust the seasonings to your taste. if you're running low on kale and spinach, substitute swiss chard, mustard greens, or rapini. enjoy!!