Kale Pesto

Early one morning  I was slowly waking up. The sun was shining through the window warming our room quickly. The kids were downstairs goofing around. I could hear their laughter over some Captain Underpants book. It was that in between time before I was fully awake and prepared to put my feet to the floor and savoring the remnants of a dream. A thought occurred to me...kale pesto, I wonder if there is such a thing.

My first inclination was to hit the cookbooks. I did not find any kale pesto recipes but I did learn from Sally Fallon's, Nourishing Traditions that kale provides calcium, iron, carotenoids. She also states that kale should always be eaten cooked;which I did not know. The reason is that kale's oxalic acid is neutralized in cooking.

Next,I googled for recipes and found many great, simple recipes that substitute kale for basil. But I was looking for something a little different.  Whenever I think of kale, I like to think of it's super food potential and pair it with other equally healthy ingredients. So this morning I took a walk out to the garden to harvest some kale and play around with a recipe.

This recipe includes some flaked dulse, a seaweed high in iron and many other great minerals. Maine Coast Sea Vegetables provides a great, easy to use and local  dulse. I substitute it for salt, sprinkle it on salads or throw it in a soups. But if you do not like the taste of seaweed you can use sea salt.

Parsley is also a really good super food. Last fall I was going through some health issues and my local herbalist suggested a tea make from parsley. Her suggestion was to drink  the tea until I could stand it no more. It really helps during those times when I feel a little depleted.

Kale Pesto

1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds
1/4 fresh, minced or 2 table spoons dried parsely
4-6 cloves minced garlic ( we like a lot of garlic:)
1/4 -1/2 cup olive oil
dash of lemon juice,
4 cups steamed kale
1-2 table spoons of flaked dulse or salt to taste

The flavor is more earthy than a traditional pesto. This made about four 1/2 pints that I put in the freezer. I think I will use this a spreads for sandwhiches. I think this would taste really good with some sprouts and yogurt cheese. For a little extra zing you might try adding some onion too!

Enjoy!