Let me introduce you to a pesto with a difference – Tuscan Kale, Hemp and Pumpkin Seed Pesto. My favourite stall at my local Farmer’s Market has been recently selling lovely baby tuscan kale that was just calling to be a star in a recipe and so this pesto was born. I don’t tend to eat very much of a raw kale, just occasionally, but all nicely blended with seeds, extra virgin olive oil and my favourite – garlic, I can be tempted.
This is one of those super simple recipes that takes about 10 minutes to make and can make any meal super tasty. You can use any type of kale that you like, curly kale would work just as well. Make sure you wash the kale thoroughly and remove any very hard stalks. I’ve used whole hemp seeds, that’s why I blended them first together with the pumpkin seeds before adding kale. If you’re using shelled hemp seeds, you can just whizz all of the ingredients together. You can eat this pesto for a snack with some crackers, veggies, drizzled onto a salad or stirred into your favourite pasta. Enjoy:)
- 100g tuscan kale, chopped (2 cups tightly packed)
- 45g hemp seeds (1/3 cup)
- 45g pumpkin seeds (1/3 cup)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 80ml olive oil (1/3 cup)
- 2tbsp lemon juice
- sea salt & pepper
- Chop the kale into strips, wash and dry thoroughly.
- Place hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds and garlic into a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Add kale and blend again. Finally add olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and process until you have desired consistency.
- Scoop into a bowl and serve with a drizzle of olive oil on top.
- Store in a fridge in an airtight jar.
- Enjoy!
Such a fancy pesto!! The color is lovely with that deep green <3
Thank you Rebecca! The colour is pretty amazing, isn’t it?
Echoing Rebecca’s comment… this pesto is such a gorgeous color!! It looks delicious too! :D
Thank you Sarah! I’m thoroughly enjoying it:)
uuuh I am loving it. Pesto with a special twist :) I might just have to add some kale the next time I make some pesto
Thank you Sarah, you really must try it! It makes much larger quantity too than if you’re using just basil :)
Just wondering, could I use spinach instead of kale??
Hi Nancy, I don’t see why not. It will have a milder taste, I suppose you could add some other herb like parsley or basil as well. I would experiment with the flavours that you like. Hope it goes well:)
Hi Hana, I’ve got to try this one it looks scrummy. Could I use carrot tops instead of kale? And what about hemp seed oil? Thanks
Hi Celine, I think you can, the taste will be quite different, but I would definitely try it. You can get really creative with pesto and pretty much just use what you have on hand. :)