Welcome to my new favorite thing for summer. 
Which, I realize, I say all the time, but still.
This pesto is one of the other things I made for Mother's Day last weekend, and it's as fresh and trendy as that macaroni salad was creamy and classic and comforting. Interestingly, they went gloriously together in the same meal, and people ate a ton of both. 
This pesto, though, was probably the winner. People were dipping their fingers in it, sneaking tastes after dessert, all the stuff I LOVE to see after I try a new recipe on my poor unassuming family. It happens a lot, and so I love it when they LOVE something as much as I do.
Also. Pesto. Raw. Quick. Versatile. Use it for anything! In this case I did it on charred bread, but of course this would be great with pasta, over chicken or another protein....sky's the limit!
You need kale! This is dinosaur kale, but any kind you like is just fine. You need a spring onion or scallions, a clove of garlic, almonds, parmesan, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt. The vinegar isn't really a classic pesto ingredient, but it really balances the SUPER sharp veg flavor of the raw kale. I also think it's the secret thing that made people dip their fingers in this directly after petting all FOUR of the dogs present at Mother's Day. What, my family? Never....
It's pesto, guys, it's easy! Put all the ingredients in a food processor. 
Blend! Taste. Adjust. Really adjust the levels of the vinegar and salt based on your preference. If you'd like a smoother paste, you can of course process this for longer, but I left it slightly grainy since I was serving it on bread and really wanted the texture to shine through. 
Then, just serve as you'd like! Like I said, I did toasted baguette with extra parm on top, which is never a bad thing. 
Oh! You could also do a little heap of this over a soup that you like, then stir it in as you eat it. YES. Do that. 
I can think of a gazillion ways to serve this, and it keeps in the fridge for several days, perfect for anytime you want a little taste on something to make it even more delicious. 
New 2015 pesto: Check.
Spring Onion Kale Pesto Crostini
Ingredients
- 1 large spring onion or 5 scallions cut into lengths
- 5 large leaves kale stem removed
- 1 clove peeled garlic
- ¼ cup dry roasted almonds
- ¼ cup olive oil plus more if needed
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar plus more if needed
- salt
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a food processor and puree until smooth. Taste, and add salt to your preference, or any more of the ingredients that you'd like to taste more of.
- Serve with toasted bread and extra parmesan, over pasta, stirred into soup, over chicken or fish....sky's the limit!
- Enjoy!
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