Kale Almond Pesto

I have loved pesto since my Montreat days when Jane used to make us pesto pasta for dinner each year.  Eric always said he hated pesto until I made this pasta with it a for the first time a few years ago.  Now I think he secretly loves it because he sure loves that pasta.  Pesto is typically made with basil, but I've seen several recipes for Kale Pesto and since we have a lot of kale from our CSA portion this week, I thought I'd try making it.  This recipe is for Kale Almond Pesto and it comes from the Buy Fresh, Buy Local insert of our local paper.

Ingredients:

2-3 C fresh kale

1/2 C raw almonds

2-3 cloves of garlic

2 T olive oil

2 T fresh lemon juice

1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

Chop kale leaves in food processor til fine.  Add next 4 ingredients and pulse until well blended.  Add cheese and blend.

 note: the picture above is before it was well blended

Fresh pesto needs to be refrigerated after making, but I am going to freeze mine in 4 oz canning jars to use throughout the year.  This recipe made four 4 oz jars of pesto.  You can also freeze pesto into ice cube trays for use a few tablespoons at a time.  Pesto can be used in many different ways but my favorites are on pasta or as a sandwich spread.