Kale Pistachio Pesto Pasta

Looking to add a fun twist to the standard pesto? Try this blender pesto that comes together in 15 minutes with a few star ingredients: kale, pistachios, basil, parmesan & touch of lemon. Toss with pasta and enjoy!

Inspiration:

Athletes love their pasta and you can’t go wrong with a pesto sauce. Looking to add a fun twist to the standard pesto? Try this blender pesto that comes together in 15 minutes (yes, really!) with a few star ingredients: kale, pistachios, basil, parmesan & squeeze of lemon. Toss with your favorite pasta and enjoy!

This kale pesto is an undeniably tasty way to a) eat an entire bunch of kale in one sitting and b) get even the pickiest eaters to LOVE kale. Kale is a nutrition superstar due to the amount of vitamins A, K, B6 and C, calcium, potassium, copper and manganese it contains, and while you can definitely eat it raw (we do it all the time around here), it’s a bit easier on your gut if it gets a quick blanch, aka a dunk in boiling water. Blanching turns the kale and in turn, the pesto, a bright emerald green.

This pesto comes together in a hurry making it an ideal candidate for a weeknight meal. Measurements can be a give or take. It can be made in a blender or food processor. It’s so quick that you’ll have it ready to go before your pasta is finished cooking.

Ingredients:

serves 4-6

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons pistachios, shelled
½ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 bunch Lacinato kale, tough ribs removed
½ cup parmesan plus more, finely grated
1 handful of fresh basil
½ lemon, juiced
½ teaspoon red chili flakes
1 pound dried pasta of your choice
Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Heat a small pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios and toast until fragrant and starting to brown, about 6-7 minutes. Allow to cool. Set aside for pasta garnish.

Heat the olive oil and garlic in a small pot or pan over medium-low heat, cooking until the garlic starts turning golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, season with a pinch of salt and set aside. 

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and generously season it with salt. Once boiling, add the kale leaves and cook until tender but not mushy, about 2 minutes. Your goal is to achieve a bright green, vibrant color and soften the kale a bit. Remove the leaves with tongs and transfer directly to a blender. Save the water for the pasta. 

Bring the water back to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (about 1 minute from being cooked through). 

Meanwhile, add the ½ cup untoasted pistachios, reserved garlic and oil, parmesan, basil, lemon juice, chili flakes, 1½ teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper to the blender. Process until smooth, adding a few tablespoons of pasta water if needed to get things moving a bit. Taste for seasoning. 

When the pasta is al dente, scoop out 1 cup of pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot over low heat. Add the pesto and 1/2 cup reserved water, stirring well. The pesto will thin out a bit and then be absorbed into the pasta as it finishes cooking. If you want to thin the pesto further, add a bit more reserved pasta water. Continue stirring until the pasta is cooked through and well-coated with the pesto, about 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat and serve with more parmesan, chili flakes, and chopped toasted pistachios.

A quick note

Pro tip number one: serve with a textured pasta so that the grooves and texture and soak up all the yummy pesto sauce.

Pro tip number two: save any extra sauce and add to sandwiches, roasted veggies, scrambled eggs, grilled cheese sand-oh or your morning toast.

Measurements don’t need to be exact on this recipe. So add a little of this or a little of that. This recipe is very adaptable. You can’t go wrong!