When we purchased our home, we inherited a garden .... with lots and lots and lots of Rainbow Chard. The previous owners must have really liked their greens. I like chard, but not enough to cook up as much as was growing, so I got creative and made some pesto with the leaves. This was super simple. As in it took about 3 minutes.
You can make pesto out of any greens ... basil, arugula, you name it! The ingredients are simple and delicious. I had them all at home ... greens, olive oil, garlic, Parmesan and pine nuts. This made a standard size mason jar full and was MUCH cheaper than purchasing a jar of pesto at the store, and no gross chemicals. You can't go wrong with that, friends. Slather some pesto on a sandwich, use as sauce on a pizza, or toss in with your favorite pasta.
Rainbow Chard Pesto
Four generous handfuls (2 hands!) of chard leaves, removed from stem and lightly chopped
1/3 cup pine nuts, plus an extra half handful if you're feeling daring like I was
1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil, you may need to add more to get your desired consistency
1/3 - 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves
A dash of salt
Combine all ingredients in a high-power blender or food processor and combine until smooth. Keep an eye on it. This is one of those recipes that requires your instinct - trust it! If it's too chunky, add some more olive oil as it stirs. Taste it. Does it need a bit more cheese? More salt? Go crazy. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge.
1 comment:
Love this recipe! I did not know you could use any greens for pesto. Actually, I would eat pesto, but never really think about what it was made of. I'm afraid of anything that smells too earthy. I love the color and look of beets, but they taste like dirt to me. When I chopped up my rainbow chard, that I was trying for the first time, I thought, "Uh oh...I smell dirt." However, I tried your recipe...because I had all of the ingredients on hand..and it was so delicious. I used slivered almonds instead of pine nuts because I didn't have those in the pantry. Thanks for enlightening me on pesto..which I love..and greens which I used to be afraid of. - Michelle R. of Colorado.
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