i saw this beautiful (and intriguing) recipe for broccoli pesto on Green Kitchen Stories. i wasn’t entirely convinced so i wanted to try it! i also figured that if i was going to whip out my food processor and buy a whole basil plant from Trader Joe’s, i might as well try out another pesto recipe. soo two of my favorite greens went head to head!
broccoli pesto
ingredients
- 1 large broccoli (around 2 cups)
- couple of stems fresh basil
- 1/2 lemon, juice
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbs water
- salt & pepper
directions
1. throw all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.
2. pulse for about a minute. taste it. add more olive oil or water if it feels too dry, and salt & pepper according to taste.
3. serve with pasta, in a salad, on a sandwich or in a wrap.
kale pesto
ingredients
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 bunch basil *be generous!
- 4 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup (toasted) hazelnuts
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
directions
1. strip kale leaves off stems and wash well. bring pot of water to a boil and blanch kale leaves for 30 seconds; remove to a bowl of cold water to cool down.
2. squeeze kale dry with hands. place kale, basil, garlic and hazelnuts in food processor. process, adding oil through feeder tube, until mixture is finely ground. season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. enjoy!
sooo which pesto won? the kale! it was so hearty and fresh! i made some chicken pesto pasta with it and added whatever leftover blanched kale that didn’t make it into the pesto. the broccoli pesto was okay, but not strong enough to carry a pasta disH, so we used it as a spread for sandwiches and that was quite delicious!
alice in cook-ING land 